Newcastle v Arsenal: Premier League – live! | Premier League

30 min: Saka, though, has been Arsenal’s sole threat going forward. The English winger has cut in a couple of times dangerously from the right flank but has either been crowded out or shot weakly at Dubravka.

28min: Tomiyasu needs Saka to tuck in for now. Saint-Maximin is in the mood tonight.

25 minutes: A break in play, as Callum Wilson has a head injury. Eeeeeeeesh, it’s tooth/teeth issue. He appears to have lost a few of them in a challenge. Not pretty! He’s OK to continue, but I wouldn’t want to watch him eat dinner later.

22min: “A yellow card to an Arsenal central defender after eight minutes, so as night follows day, that means a red card before half time,” emails Richard Hirst.

Worth noting that with Everton receiving two red cards in their defeat to Brentford, they have now moved two clear of Arsenal (with 104) at the top of the all-time standings (in the Premier League era).

20 minutes: Arteta’s mood has not improved. Perhaps one of the physios can give his shoulders a massage. They are hunched up around his ears from him at present, as though he’s bracing himself for a firework.

18min: Double chance for Newcastle! Saint-Maximin sends Tomiyasu for a Newcastle Brown on the left flank, the Magpies recycle play and cut through Arsenal’s defense on the right: Krafth rasping cross-shot towards the back post. Ramsdale gets an unconvincing hand on it and the ball breaks… Gabriel is there to tidy up. It wasn’t a goal-line clearance but if the ball broke to someone in black and white, it would have been an open goal. Newcastle come roaring back, with Joelinton Cruyff-turning his way out of trouble on the edge of Arsenal’s box before seeing his fierce drive blocked by White.

16min: Wilson and Gabriel get in a tangle near the corner flag. The Arsenal defender looks a little rattled. Arteta watches on, in his normal jittering manner.

14min: Bruno Guimaraes is good at football, isn’t he?

12 minutes: Arsenal are wandering around with all the urgency of Benny Fazio on a construction site. Newcastle, with nothing left to play for this season, have all the play so far.

10 minutes: Wilson spearheads the next Newcastle attack. The home side are bossing this, but the striker is just offside as he breaks into the plentiful space between Arsenal’s back line and goal. Arsenal need to get hold of the ball for a second. A huge cheer goes up as Longstaff makes a strong sliding tackle on Tavares. Oooof.

8min: Yellow card for White, who makes a clumsy tackle on the edge of Arsenal’s box. A dangerous ball is whipped to the back post, but no meaningful contact on the ball sees it bounce out for a goal kick.

6min: Ramsdale dithers on the ball and it’s SO close to a Newcastle opener! Wilson closes the keeper down, but the ball deflects straight to White who desperately boots the ball upfield. That so easily could have nestled in the Arsenal net.

5 minutes: Arsenal win a corner but Dubravka punches clear.

2 minutes: Ramsdale slips as he clears the ball but the ball flies to safety.

An email from Charles Antaki: “As far as feelings go, I confess as an Arsenal fan I have a Bad Feeling about this one, much as I had a Bad Feeling for the majority of Arsenal’s games this season, so no change there. The only time I didn’t have Bad Feeling was ahead of the three easy games against Palace, Brighton and Southampton, and look what happened there. So maybe I should gird my loins and conjure up some sort of Good Feeling, though I suspect that’s going to end up as a Bad Feeling one way or another.”

Peeeeeeeepand we’re off at St James’ Park!

There is another football match of note happening tonight… you can join John Brewin for that, with things poised nicely at 1-1 after the first leg.

soooooooo, Callum Wilson starts for the hosts and is also handed the captain’s armband – he’ll play ahead of newly named player of the season, Joelinton. We didn’t see that coming at the start of the season.

For Arsenal, one Brazilian, Gabriel, is actually fit enough to start at the center of defense (which means Tomiyasu can play right back), another Brazilian, Gabriel (Martinelli), is only fit enough for the bench, which means Emile Smith Rowe eats into the side. White, who had missed the previous three games with a hamstring problem, also comes in.

I don’t know why but I’ve got the feeling that ESR is going to play a big part tonight.

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