Eddie Howe ready to unleash 'big game' star for Newcastle United - Arsenal hate him
Newcastle United host Arsenal in the Premier League at St James’ Park on Sunday (4:30pm kick-off).
Eddie Howe is set to make more changes to his Newcastle United side as they prepare to face Arsenal at St James’ Park on Sunday.
Howe has made seven changes to his Newcastle side in each of the last two matches against AFC Bournemouth and Bradford City. The Magpies drew 0-0 with Bournemouth last time out in the Premier League before progressing to the last-16 of the Carabao Cup with a 4-1 win over Bradford.
Newcastle will be boosted by the return of Anthony Gordon from suspension in the Premier League for the first time since his straight red card against Liverpool last month. The 24-year-old returned to the side against Barcelona in the Champions League last week with a goal before impressing Howe again with his display against Bradford in the cup.
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Anthony Gordon returns from suspension
“A good performance from Anthony,” Howe said after the Bradford match. “I thought he had a really good attitude to the game, wanted to perform, wanted to impress, had a number of shots, worked well with the players around him on that left-hand side.
“He came into central areas, that was part of our game plan against Bradford today. He was very pleasing.”
Gordon started up front against Aston Villa, Liverpool and Barcelona before moving out to his favoured left-wing position against Bradford. It’s a position he could well keep in the side when Newcastle face Arsenal on Sunday.
Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey and Fabian Schar are ruled out of the match due to injury but Nick Woltemade is expected to come back into the starting line-up as Newcastle’s central striker. That is despite William Osula scoring twice in the 4-1 win against Bradford on Wednesday night.
Either way, Newcastle starting a natrual striker will allow Gordon to start out wide for The Magpies, a position he has done plenty of damage in when facing Arsenal previously.
“We need everyone to be big-game players,” Howe said. “I think certainly when you look at our season, we're playing big games every three or four days. I don't think there is a small game for us.
“[Gordon] is someone that has done really well in those type of games. For me, [he’s] a player that rises to the occasion. We're going to need everyone to do that on Sunday.”
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Anthony Gordon’s impact v Arsenal
Gordon’s last domestic goal for Newcastle came in the 2-0 Carabao Cup second leg win over Arsenal back in February. He also scored in the away leg at the Emirates Stadium.
The England winger played his less favoured right-wing position last time out against Arsenal in the Premier League at St James’ Park but was able to put in a devastating cross that led to Alexander Isak’s winning goal. The season prior, Gordon scored a controversial winner against The Gunners at St James’ Park.
In his last three appearances against Arsenal at St James’ Park, Gordon has grabbed two goals and an assist while also scoring at the Emirates back in January.
He has proven to be a thorn in Mikel Arteta’s side in recent seasons and will be hoping to score his first Premier League goal since January when he lines up for Newcastle this weekend, as expected. On form, Gordon has been tipped as one of the best wingers in the Premier League but faces a challenge to rediscover his best levels.
When asked about Gordon’s impact against Arsenal previously, Howe said: “Anthony's got that focus and the ability to raise his game for the big occasion, which is a great thing for any player to have.
“It's also a challenge to be consistent in every kind of game. I also think he has the ability to do that as well. But he's definitely been exposed to big games in his career.