Today Tuesday, the first of three big matches for Arsenal in January will be played.
Will Arsenal bring in a new forward as reinforcement during Gabriel Jesus’ rehab or will the arrival of Mykhaylo Mudryk be hastened is on the mind of every fan and pundit.
These games will go far determining Arsenal’s position and confidence during the second half of the season.
They will face the current third, fourth, and fifth-place clubs in the Premier League, starting off with the ever-improving Newcastle United.
In the last 20 meetings between Arsenal and Newcastle, the Gunners have an impressive 18 wins and just two losses. The pair drew both of their matches in 2011, which was the only time there wasn’t a winner since 2007.
However, the most recent game between the two clubs was a 2-0 win in Newcastle’s favor.
And now with both sides in a possible title run this season, can Arsenal return the favor and maintain their momentum at the top?
Predicted XI
Bench
Fabio Vieira
Marquinhos
Mohamed Elneny
Albert Sambi Lokonga
Kieran Tierney
Takehiro Tomiyasu
Rob Holding
Cedric
Matt Turner
Left Out: Gabriel Jesus (injury), Reiss Nelson (injury) & Emile Smith Rowe (injury)
Against Brighton, Zinchenko got the start but made way for Tierney in the 60th minute, at which point Arsenal started to lose a bit of control of the match. Will Arteta stick with that pattern or change things up? While both are fully capable against Newcastle, Zinchenko’s experience and ability to mix into the midfield would be preferable for this game.
While fitness shouldn’t be an issue, even with the short turnaround since the Brighton win, the primary XI will get a significant rest following this match. If Arsenal can exit the match without injury, Mikel Arteta will be able to rotate the majority of the squad for the January 9th FA Cup tie against Oxford United.
From there it’s 12 days between the Newcastle and Tottenham matches.
Tuesday will be a big test for Arsenal’s young attack.
Newcastle has the best defense in the Premier League, allowing just 11 goals from 17 matches but Arsenal’s is second with 14 goals allowed from 16 games.
Newcastle has only allowed one goal in their last seven matches, an 89th-minute consolation goal to Southampton on November 6th.
But Eddie Nketiah also has done well stepping in for Jesus. The Newcastle backline will however be a big hurdle for the entirety of Arsenal’s front four.
