Newcastle are currently 10 points behind Arsenal in the Premier League table and sitting third heading into their final five matches of the campaign. Despite leading for the majority of the campaign, The Gunners now find themselves second, a point behind leaders Manchester City having played a game more.
Mikel Arteta’s side are without a win in their last four Premier League matches and will realistically have to beat The Magpies on Sunday to keep their title hopes intact heading into the final four matches. But Newcastle have plenty to play for themselves as they are just seven points away from guaranteeing Champions League football for next season.
Both sides will be without some key players for the match. Arsenal defender William Saliba has missed over a month of football due to a lower-back injury and Mikel Arteta was unable to provide a positive update on the Frenchman ahead of Tuesday night’s match against Chelsea amid fears he could be out for the remainder of the season.
One player who is set to be out for the rest of the season is Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles. The 29-year-old sat out Sunday’s 3-1 win over Southampton at St James’ Park due to a calf injury and head coach Eddie Howe is not expecting the defender to be back available in each of United’s final five games.
Howe will be hoping to have Sean Longstaff and Allan Saint-Maximin back from their respective foot and hamstring injuries. Both players missed Sunday’s match but could be back in contention for Sunday providing they make good progress on the training ground through the week.
Here is the current list of doubts and outs for Newcastle United’s Premier League match at home to Arsenal...
1. Arsenal: William Saliba - out
The defender could be out for the remainder of the season following a back injury picked up in the Europa League defeat to Sporting Lisbon in March. Mikel Arteta confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Saliba would not be available for the trip to Newcastle. Photo: David Price
2. Arsenal: Gabriel Magalhaes - doubt
Arsenal defender Gabriel will be assessed ahead of the match after going off in the 3-1 win over Chelsea on Tuesday. Gunners boss Mikel Arteta said: “We will have to see tomorrow how he is, but yeah he could not finish the game so that was a big sign for us. We’ll have to see how he is tomorrow.”
3. Arsenal: Mohamed Elneny - out
Has been a long-term absentee for Arsenal this season due to a knee injury.
4. Arsenal: Takehiro Tomiyasu - out
The Arsenal defender is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.