Eddie Howe hints that Newcastle United fan favourite could be dropped v Arsenal
Lewis Hall returned to the Newcastle United starting line-up after a lengthy injury absence.
Lewis Hall has started consecutive matches for Newcastle United as they drew 0-0 at AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League before beating Bradford City 4-1 in the Carabao Cup.
They were the 21-year-old’s first competitive starts for Newcastle since picking up a serious foot injury back in February that ultimately ended his 2024/25 season and saw him miss the Carabao Cup final.
At full fitness, Hall is almost a guaranteed starter at left-back in Eddie Howe’s side, but Tino Livramento has handled the role well in his absence.
Livramento dropped to the bench against Bradford while right-back Kieran Trippier, who can also play left-back, has been a substitute in each of the last two matches for Newcastle.
The Magpies host Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday (4:30pm kick-off) as they look to keep their strong defensive record intact against The Gunners. Newcastle have kept four clean sheets in five matches so far this season and head into the match having won three of their last four games against Arsenal, conceding only once.
Hall started three of those four games with the only one he missed being the only one Newcastle conceded in and didn’t win.
But after a long spell on the sidelines, is the youngster ready to start three games in the space of seven days? That was a question put to head coach Eddie Howe looking ahead to the Arsenal encounter.
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Eddie Howe drops Lewis Hall hint ahead of Arsenal
"I'm sure he'll be better physically for the two games,” Howe admitted. “I think Lew's still building his way back up to his best physical level. I was pleased with him in different ways.
"Probably, you look at the Bournemouth game, it was a really good defensive performance from the team and he played his part within that. Then against Bradford, he had a lot more of the ball and a lot more creative and attacking intent and I thought he got better as the game went on.
"So I think good signs for him but we've still got to treat him carefully in the early stages of his comeback.”
The slight reservations from Howe and the warning about treating Hall ‘carefully’ could be seen as a hint at further rotation to Newcastle’s defence on Sunday. Dan Burn is back available while Trippier and Livramento will be pushing to return to the starting line-up as well.
Newcastle have had successive three-game weeks and have another coming up with Union Saint-Gilloise in the Champions League after Arsenal, followed by Nottingham Forest back at St James’ Park in the Premier League.
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Eddie Howe previews NUFC v Arsenal
Looking ahead to the match, Howe said: “It's always been competitive against Arsenal in the games that I've been here.And there has been an edge to those games because I think both teams are desperate to win. Yeah, we sort of encourage that.
“I think the more competitive we are, the better we play. So certainly we need to bring that side of our game.
“They're a different team. Likewise, we're a different team. And I think you go into a new season full of hope and expectation of what you can be. And we're still in that moment where we're finding out what team we're going to be.