MY ACCOUNT
– Arsenal lead the Premier League by seven points following their 4-2 victory at Brighton
– Newcastle are unbeaten in 12 league games and have held Manchester City to a draw this term
– Recommended bet: Draw
Arsenal’s New Year’s Eve victory over Brighton extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to seven points and set them up nicely for a month that could define their season.
A successful transfer window will be needed to bolster the squad for the months ahead, and Mikel Arteta’s men face three tough January matches that will test their title credentials.
Matches against Manchester United and Tottenham are to come, but first up is this meeting with a Newcastle side who have enjoyed their own meteoric rise in 2022-23.
Eddie Howe’s third-placed visitors have lost only one of 17 league outings this season, putting them in serious contention for a top-four finish.
And victory in north London would lift the Magpies to within just six points of the summit, so Howe’s men would be dreaming of something even more spectacular if they could land another win on Tuesday night.
Team news
Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus will be out of action for a couple of months following surgery on his medial ligaments, and winger Reiss Nelson is also expected to miss out with a hamstring injury.
Attacker Emile Smith Rowe is closing in on a return to action, but this match may come too soon.
Newcastle manager Howe is without long-term injury absentees Jonjo Shelvey, Emil Krafth and Paul Dummett, while left-back Matt Targett is expected to be out for a couple of weeks with a heel problem.
Alexander Isak has been out since September with a thigh injury and is still a couple of weeks from returning, but fellow striker Callum Wilson came on against Leeds last week having recovered from illness.
The stats
Arsenal have won all seven Premier League home games this season, scoring an average of 3.14 goals per game and beating Liverpool 3-2 and Tottenham 3-1 at the Emirates.
The Gunners have dropped points in just two matches this term, but Newcastle have also lost only once, an unfortunate 98th-minute defeat away at Liverpool in August.
However, Newcastle’s record against the rest of the traditional big six is impressive. They drew against Manchester City and Manchester United while beating Tottenham in north London and defeating Chelsea at St James’ Park.
Howe’s men have dropped points only twice in their last ten league games, hitting the woodwork twice in a 0-0 draw at Manchester United and dominating Leeds last time out.
Their 0-0 draw against Leeds made it six clean sheets in eight matches for Newcastle, who have conceded only two goals in that time.
Prediction
This is a serious test of Arsenal’s ability to cope without Gabriel Jesus, as visiting Newcastle boast the tightest defence in the top tier and will be tough to break down.
Eddie Howe’s team have conceded an average of just 0.65 goals per game, with the next best goals-against average in the Premier League being Arsenal’s 0.88, and the addition of under 2.5 goals looks a sensible addition to Bet Builder selections.
And while Arsenal have been impressive this season, they have yet to be tested against a top-class defence in the absence of Jesus as they were gifted several soft goals in their 3-1 defeat of West Ham and 4-2 victory over Brighton.
The Gunners will find goals harder to come by against a Newcastle side who have kept clean sheets against Manchester United, Chelsea and Brighton and were unfortunate to concede twice to Liverpool.
At the other end, the return of Wilson offers the Magpies far more threat, as backup striker Chris Wood wasted several opportunities against Leeds last time out. The visitors could nick another impressive result and we recommend backing the draw, which is available at 14/5 with LiveScore Bet.
