Newcastle v Arsenal

[kennethlindheim]

After suffering their third league defeat in a row, Arsenal will be desperate to get back to winning ways and cement their hold on fourth place when they visit Newcastle on Easter Monday, live on PremPlus.

Saturday's undeserved 1-0 defeat to West Ham was their first at Emirates Stadium, and even more worryingly for The Gunners it allowed Bolton to move to within two points of a UEFA Champions League place.

However, with a game in hand, Arsene Wenger's side will be looking up the table rather than down and still harbour hopes of making up a five-point gap and beating Liverpool to third place.

Newcastle defeated Sheffield United on Saturday to move into tenth and even though a European finish may be slightly unrealistic, many of Glenn Roeder's side will be playing for their futures and will be hopeful of securing a result against an Arsenal side struggling for form.

Wenger's main problems reside in attack as his side proved to be hugely wasteful on Saturday with key men Thierry Henry (stomach and groin) and Robin van Persie (metatarsal) sidelined.

Theo Walcott is also out for the rest of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery, so the Frenchman must decide whether to use Freddie Ljungberg behind Emmanuel Adebayor or play Julio Baptista or Jeremie Aliadiere in an advanced role alongside the Togolese striker.

Young Brazilian midfielder Denilson will be brought back into the fold after being rested for the defeat against The Hammers, but Cesc Fabregas and Gilberto are likely to continue in central roles.

Newcastle captain Scott Parker may not line up against them though as he was forced off during the win over Sheffield United due to an ankle injury, so Turkish schemer Emre could fill in again.

French forward Antoine Sibierski was also withdrawn with a similar problem against The Blades and Roeder will assess both players on Sunday.

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[Pennywise]

The Gunners are unstable, and suddenly they can play an outstanding match with good attacking football.

I am a pessimist and will always be, but I think Toon can take a point or better at St.James today.

[Olzy]

how has this game been going?

anyone dominating? which players are playing well.

[Mighty T.A.L.]

It's a boring game.Few chances.None perticular plays good.

[kennethlindheim]

It ended 0-0. It's a decent result. Always nice to keep a clean sheet against Arsenal. One of the most boring games this season. A shite referee didn't help.

[Jose_Mourinho]

Ye Howard Webb is normally quite good but this time he wasnt very good.

[Arsenal007]

bullshit all around

[kyan]

Arsenal came very close with 5mins to go but Nobby Solano did fantastically to block 2 shots off the line.

Good to see Butt get MOTM, he's really got his career back on track.

[kennethlindheim]

It's a torture to watch our set-pieces. We create absolutly nothing. Long time since I've seen Arsenal so bad.

We probably should have nicked a win but we didn't offer enough going forward. I think we paid Arsenal a bit too much respect. Still, I would have taken two draws against Arsenal at the start of the season so it's not all bad. When we have Owen to gather the flicks from Martins, etc, and relieve a little of the pressure from Martins, I think we'll be much more effective up front.

[Trim]

Not a bad result for Newcastle.
If Arsenal continues this poor play, they'll end up without 4th place.