Arsenal handed injury blow as Newcastle United dubbed 'contenders' for Serie A superstar

Newcastle United are back in action on Saturday night when they head to the capital to take on title contenders Arsenal. The Magpies are fighting to get back into the European spots, needing more consistent form to beat their rivals to a top seven finish.

Eddie Howe's men now have the huge challenge of taking on an Arsenal side who have been in superb form in the Premier League. In the meantime, we have rounded up all the latest news and transfer rumours surrounding St James' Park.

Chiesa claim

Juventus star Federico Chiesa is being linked with a move to Newcastle ahead of this summer, with TV Play suggesting that the Magpies are contenders. Eleonora Trotta said live on air, as cited by SportsWitness: "To date, as we have heard, the discussion on the extension is on standby because Chiesa wants to know and understand the future of the technical guide before making a definitive decision on his future.

“It is obvious that in the Juventus plans there are two paths, extension or transfer in the summer with a suitable offer. Chiesa has a market abroad in the Premier League with Newcastle in particular, but there is also Bayern Munich. In Serie A, Milan had previously carried out a survey to find out the former Viola’s requests.”

Arsenal injury news

Arsenal have been handed mixed injury news ahead of their clash with Newcastle on Saturday, with Thomas Partey finally closing in on a return, training this week, although he won't make it back for the Magpies clash.

But in a big blow for the Gunners, Gabriel Jesus has been ruled out. Mikel Arteta said: "We could not resolve it as quickly as we wanted and he had a small reaction in training again. We didn’t want to take any more risks because he has been out for quite a while and he is a player that we need at his best. We decided to give him a few more days."