Don’t panic, chaps.
Remember : Newcastle are not as good as Aston Villa.
From their last six games, Newcastle have 4 points.
Aston Villa have 13 points.
On form, Villa are three times better than Newcastle.
Big Sam’s boys haven’t won in their last five Premiership games.
For the record, Arsenal have 14 points from their last six Premiership games.
Without Flamini, Hleb and Fabregas, Arsene will go 4-5-1 again.
The team will be looking for a goal from Abebayor, a killer cross from Sagna, maybe a screamer from Rosicky.
Diarra had three wild shots against Aston Villa, so don’t expect a goal from him tonight. He will score when he stops trying desperately to score.
Big Sam Allardyce showed his hand when he signed thuggish duo Joey Barton and Alan Smith but that hasn’t impressed Newcastle fans, who want to see football, not violence.
However, his current squad of players can’t use corners and free-kicks and diagonal balls and flick-ons like Bolton did. They are not so methodical, they don’t have the aerial power or muscle. They don’t have Kevin Davies, they have Obafemi Martins and no strikers in the Prem are more different than those two. One is a bruiser, the other a speed-merchant.
Sure, James Milner crosses a better ball than Ashley Young or Joe Cole. And Mark Viduka might come on. He’s slow but cute.
This Sky game tonight is a big test of Arsenal’s squad and another chance to see whether my theory about their organically evolving style is a sound one. Tonight we’ll see their squad, their character, their resourcefulness – and their goalkeeper. Can Arsenal win the title with Almunia in goal? Does Arsene Wenger think they can win it with Almunia in goal ?
It’s been reported that Allardyce is two games away from the sack, and his Newcastle is a miserable, inept team right now. They lost 3-1 at Blackburn, with David Bentley scoring twice.
Joey Barton, who has been there ten minutes, has condemned the Toon fans as “vicious “.If the Toon Army boo Barton tonight, Gooners will join in.
On Saturday, Aston Villa scored, then Arsenal won 2-1.
What happens if Newcastle score? Wait and see.
A Sunday paper this week confirmed a story I heard when trader Mike Ashley bought the club : that he didn’t do his due diligence and later found far bigger debts than expected. When I originally heard that, from a reliable source, I believed it. But it seemed bizarre that Ashley would buy the Newcastle shares without studying the books carefully. I found that very, very strange indeed but I guess it’s football – normal sanity does not apply.
Ashley has said Sam’s job does not depend on beating Arsenal tonight.
In other news, Celtic celebrated losing 1-0 to AC Milan because Benfica won 2-1 in Donetsk. Strachan’s heroes are in the last 16 for the second year running.
The only TV drama series I watch is the preposterous Spooks. Great line last night at the end of the 9pm episode, where the London-based American spy boss thanks Harry, chief of M15, for saving western civilisation, as he does every Tuesday night.
Yank : “We owe you, Harry.”
Harry : “I’m glad to make the world safe for American aggression.”