Newcastle United Vs Arsenal: The Gunners Face Tough Test At St James Park

JAKARTA - The hot match will be presented at St James Park on Sunday 28 September when Newcastle United host Arsenal in the 2025/2026 Premier League continued. Both teams came to this match with confidence after winning the EFL Cup, but their performance in the league is still far from consistent.

Arsenal, who have been predicted to compete again at the top this season, have just played a 1-1 draw against Manchester City in the match that took place at the Emirates Stadium. Uniquely, the game is a kind of turnover compared to their meeting last season. If at that time Arsenal played defensively with 10 players and City attacked all out, this time Pep Guardiola's side appeared more passive, letting Arsenal control the ball.

However, the Gunners' dominance was still unable to produce an absolute victory, even though Gabriel Martinelli had scored with a beautiful chip that beat Gianluigi Donnarumma in injury time.

The draw made the public and observers criticize Mikel Arteta's tactic approach which was considered too careful. Criticism got sharper after Arsenal only narrowly won 2-0 over Port Vale in the third half of the EFL Cup, through goals from Eberechi Eze and Leandro Trossard, without a truly convincing performance.

Now, Arsenal are in a precarious position. If they lose to Newcastle, the difference in points with leaders Liverpool could be wide of eight points, a distance that is difficult to catch up to this tight season. However, the challenge at St James Park is not only about the standings, but also about history.

Arsenal have lost their last three visits to Newcastle without scoring a goal. Since Mikel Arteta became manager, only at the Etihad Stadium have they lost more times.

Meanwhile, the hosts Newcastle have also not performed optimally this season, especially in attack. In the last five Premier League games, they have only scored the second-worst three goals in the league with two other teams, only ahead of Aston Villa who have scored one goal. Losing Alexander Isak who moved with a record transfer significantly affected the strength of the Magpies.

However, Newcastle's back line is their main strength this season. Eddie Howe's men recorded three clean sheets in the last three league games, and their opponents were only able to create a total of 2.6 expected goals (xG), a number that shows how tight and efficient their defense is.

They also showed the potential for attacks to return to life when they beat Bradford City with a landslide score of 4-1 in the EFL Cup. The victory was an important moral injection, especially ahead of the big match against Arsenal.

In terms of player fitness, Arsenal got a breath of fresh air with the return of captain Martin Odegaard who had fully trained after recovering from a shoulder injury. However, Mikel Arteta still lost several key players. Noni Madueke is confirmed to be absent for two months due to a knee injury he got against Man City. Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus are also not available, while there is no clarity about Piero Hincapie's condition.

On the positive side, Bukayo Saka is back fit after experiencing a hamstring problem. The England international only needed one more goal contribution to reach a milestone, namely 100 direct involvements in goals in the Premier League (currently 54 goals and 45 assists).

Newcastle also faces injury problems, but not too worrying. Jacob Murphy suffered a minor injury to the Achilles tendon, but it can still be played if needed. Fabian Schar, Yoane Wissa, and Jacob Ramsey still couldn't perform. Good news came from behind Botman who had been pulled out in the midweek match, but was certainly fit for the match against Arsenal.

On the front lines, although Will Osula scored twice against Bradford, he is likely to return to the bench to give Nick Woltemade a place. While on the left side, Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes still have not shown any sharpness. Gordon, for example, has recorded 10 shots in the Premier League this season without a single goal. Meanwhile Barnes has a poor record against Arsenal "never scored a goal in 12 Premier League meetings."

Berdasarkan kondisi kedua tim, laga ini diperkirakan akan berjalan sangat ketat. Arsenal memiliki pertahanan terbaik selar equal dengan Crystal Palace, namun sering kesulitan mencetak gol saat menghadapi tim dengan pertahan disiplin seperti Newcastle. Di sisi lain, Newcastle sendiri juga belum cukup tajam menyelesaikan peluang. Karena itu, pertandingan ini sangat mungkin berakhir tanpa gol.

Final score prediction: Newcastle United 0-0 Arsenal.