OPINION
Monday night’s clash with Arsenal is going to be a tricky one for Newcastle United.
The Gunners are in a decent run of form at the moment, and are currently chasing a Champions League spot that could make or break their season, while the Magpies are all but safe and will probably have earmarked this game as one they can afford to lose.
That doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t give it a properly good go, however, and if they are to get anything out of Monday night’s clash, they know they will have to pull off a sizeable upset – not least considering they have won just once against the Gunners since 2010.
And the key to such a result, as Arsenal manager Unai Emery alluded to during his press conference on Friday, could be the Toon Army’s impressive organisational skills.
As quoted in the Football.London, he said: “Monday’s match is going to be very difficult. Newcastle are in a good moment. They have a lot good players and good organisation. The coach has a lot of experience and he is very competitive and I know that.
“The last matches they are playing, they are playing with a big confidence and very strong defensively and very competitive. My focus is on how we can break their defensive positions.”
Rafa Benitez loves nothing more than setting up a solid side capable of stifling an opposition, and Emery has clearly recognised this in his build up.
Identifying it is one thing, however, and doing something about it is another matter entirely.
The Gunners will almost certainly come up against a back three that has been marshalled to within an inch of its life, and that knows what is expected of it down to the letter.
Fabian Schar may be suspended, but that won’t change things too much, and whether it is Paul Dummett or Federico Fernandez who deputises, they will be fully ready for whatever the Londoners have to throw at them.
If Newcastle can get something from their trip to the capital it won’t be pretty, but it will be made sweeter by knowing that Emery saw it coming and could do nothing about it.
