Newcastle United vs. Arsenal, English Premier League preview
Newcastle United will host Arsenal at St. James Park on Saturday as both sides look to put last season’s disappointments behind them. The hosts finished 12th on the Premier League table, while the Gunners missed out on third place to Manchester
City and will now have to fight for a place in this seasons UEFA Champions League.
Apart from the disappointing last season, both clubs have failed to bring in adequate reinforcements during the summer transfer window. While Newcastle have lost key players such as Andy Carroll and Jose Enrique to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arsenal-c38429 seem to be on the verge
of losing captain Cesc Fabregas and midfielder http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Samir-Nasri-c32360 over the next few days.
Newcastle defender Steven Taylor revealed he was confident his side could get a decent result against the visitors. He admitted the Gunners were amongst the top Premier League sides, but was confident the new arrivals at St. James Park would help the side
improve from last season. The 25-year-old http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/England-c749 B international urged his side to get a good result at home.
Taylor said while speaking to reporters:
“Arsenal are a fantastic side, with top-quality players.
They want to win the Premier League this year, and the pressures on them.
For us, we’re at home, and we want to kick on from last year.”
He continued:
“We need to improve our record at St James’ Park and take more points at home – that’s vital in the Premier League.
With the signings that have come in, there’s a lot of quality in the squad.
Hopefully, we’ll kick on from last season.”
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insisted in his recent press conference that he did not expect any players to leave the club, but Fabregas and Nasri are close to an Emirates Stadium exit. Fabregas is headed towards boyhood club, while Manchester City seems
to have convinced Nasri on a big money move to the Eastlands.
This could be why both have been omitted from the squad for the trip to Newcastle United, even though the French manager has not mentioned any such reason. The new Arsenal signings http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alex-c4752 Oxlade-Chamberlain could make their debut against the Magpies,
with most of the Arsenal first team sidelined with injuries.
Team News
Newcastle United
The Magpies have all their players available except for http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/France-c2899 international picked up the injury during pre-season and will be sidelined for the Arsenal clash.
Mike Williamson, the 27-year-old English defender, returns after recovering from a broken arm. While 24-year-old midfielder Danny Guthrie and left-fullback Shane Ferguson make a comeback after shaking off their minor injuries.
Arsenal
Arsene Wenger has a list of injuries as Arsenal prepare for the trip to Newcastle, the likes of Samir Nasri, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Abou-Diaby-c3453 have all been ruled out from selection against Newcastle.
The Arsenal skipper Fabregas is said to have not regained match fitness, which is why Wenger has decided to rest him. Nasri reportedly has an illness, because of which he is unable to feature for the Gunners in their opening fixture.
Robin van Persie picked up a knee injury during international duty; while http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Kieran-Gibbs-c20945 has a thigh injury but could go on to make an appearance depending on the results of a late fitness test. Lastly, Wilshere and Diaby are both out with ankle injuries.
Possible Line-ups
Newcastle United
Tim Krul; Steven Taylor, Fabricio Coloccini, Mike Williamson, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Demba-Ba-c10812.
Arsenal
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Marouane-Chamakh-c24294.
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