Arsenal vs Newcastle United. Premier League.
Emirates StadiumAttendance60,188.
Watch live on Sky Sports Premier League, and highlights on the Sky Sports app, website and Sky Sports Football YouTube channel
Sunday 16 February 2020 14:59, UK
Team news, key stats and ways to follow ahead of Arsenal vs Newcastle on Sunday (kick-off 4.30pm).
Arsenal will continue to be without January recruits Cedric Soares and Pablo Mari when they host Newcastle.
The match on Sunday will come too soon for Mari, who is expected to join the squad in the next week or so, while Soares will have to wait longer and is yet to return to training.
Kieran Tierney will also miss out with a long-term shoulder injury, although manager Mikel Arteta could have Sead Kolasinac and Reiss Nelson back in contention after they both had thigh problems.
Newcastle striker Joelinton is fit to take his place in the squad for the trip to north London.
The £40m Brazilian was unable to continue after scoring his third goal of the season in the FA Cup fourth-round replay victory at Oxford on February 4 but has recovered from a rib problem in time to feature.
Fellow frontmen Dwight Gayle (hamstring) and Yoshinori Muto (hip) are back in training but unlikely to travel, while Andy Carroll (hip) remains on the sidelines along with defenders Emil Krafth (ankle), Jetro Willems (knee), Paul Dummett, Javier Manquillo and Jonjo Shelvey (all hamstring).
Follow the match on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event or in our dedicated live blog, with highlights published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel 15 minutes after full-time.
It has been an intriguing break for Arsenal. For the first time, Mikel Arteta can go and properly work with the players for an extended period of time. He is still trying to get his point across but Arsenal are more together and more understanding of what is expected of them, in terms of the commitment and togetherness.
It is not bang on though. They are becoming a side that is hard to beat but Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang still do not have the balance right in terms of scoring goals. People will question about whether Aubameyang likes playing on left. Lacazette also has no confidence at the moment, but let's hope it is more positive after the break. The unity and organisation at the back is still key, while we will have fresh players once more.
Meanwhile, Newcastle have been very good away from home under Steve Bruce. He will go to frustrate Arsenal and will look to counter-attack with Miguel Almiron, Allan Saint-Maximin and Joelinton, who has improved a lot.
It will be a tough afternoon, but Arsenal seem to have some drive back. The negative could be waiting around for Aubameyang and Lacazette to kick back into form. Gabriel Martinelli has been in great form, but we need to start seeing more from Nicolas Pepe. The Gunners are not good enough to make the top four, but they must have a go at it. For that reason they will be firing and up for this game in order to come away with the three points.
CHARLIE PREDICTS: 3-1 (11/1 with Sky Bet)
