Arsenal can bounce back against Eddie Howe’s Newcastle

Just because Arsenal had been flying didn’t mean that they had become invincible. They have their problems, as was highlighted when they got badly beaten by Liverpool over the last weekend. This was a good moment to be humbled, to learn, and to keep it going for a tough match against a very desperate Newcastle United lot.

There is no way that supporters or players imagined they’d be in this spot before the season began. Steve Bruce was as funny and straightforward as ever, and the team was looking to put a good show amid takeover rumors. The Magpies now sit at the bottom of the league, with just six points from all of their matches so far, resulting in Bruce’s after the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund finally purchased the club after so much discussion and frustration.

Eddie Howe is a strong coach, and he will squeeze as much as he can out of this team. It is early enough for him to salvage them and steer clear of relegation, especially with some winter window help, so that they can play in the Premier League next season, but Arsenal will be looking to make sure that it does not start this week.

While some might argue that Newcastle came away unlucky from their match against Brentford, one could also argue the opposite. On the other hand, Arsenal were not unlucky, so much as they were manhandled. They will look to address this for this upcoming match, and to take another three points from the Magpies in the process. Three huge points.

Arsenal are a bad team for Newcastle and Eddie Howe to face in the Premier League on Saturday

Sometimes in sports, stuff like that just tends to happen. A team that might be an opportunity for one side to get off of their poor run turns into an even tougher match than it already looked to be, all because of a circumstance of which you have no control of yourself. For Newcastle it is likely the case that while Arsenal were never going to be an easy match for them, this match has become more difficult because of the way that the team lost to Liverpool last weekend.

Now, Arsenal could come out flat and deflated, although I do not personally believe this is likely, as the team now knows how to win, even as they are coming off a fine example of the opposite. They also know the feeling of winning, and will wish to have it back in a game that they should, in theory, be able to win fairly easily.

It will take as full a performance as the team was previously offering during its ten-match unbeaten run. It will take a solid effort from the backline and Aaron Ramsdale, and will take a creative showing from whoever acts as the engine of the vehicle, whether that be Martin Odegaard or Emile Smith Rowe. Similarly, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will have to offer more after he was humbled by Liverpool’s defenders at Anfield.

While those losses are positive in the long-run for Arsenal, as they build character, as cliche as that sounds, they cannot be lamented about for too long. They are bound to happen, and yet can not define a team, so much as act as a guide for what a team can’t do going forward should they wish to be great.

Newcastle will be the first task in starting a new undefeated streak. However, a team that sits at the bottom of the league will no more wish to stay there than did the Gunners when they sat there at the end of August. It will be a merciless match, and The Arsenal mustn’t take it lightly for risk of dropping points to a team that sits vulnerable and disheveled.

This will require the team’s focus, and as we have all been quick to applaud Mikel Arteta after a rough, difficult start to this season, this will be a really positive opportunity to see how he and his unit respond to a bit more adversity just as December beckons with a brutal, outrageously hectic schedule.

Three points against the Magpies are a must, and The Arsenal have to come out as though they know this as well as we all do.