English Premier League new season opening-round clashes have an exciting matchup on Super Sunday, as top 4 hopeful Arsenal travels to take on Newcastle United at St James' Park. Clashes between these 2 have not only brought memorable games to mind but also jaw-dropping goals, from Alan Shearer's 1st ever goal at Highbury(the then home of Arsenal FC) in 2001 to Dennis Bergkamp's delightful roulette goal in 2002 and then the late Cheick Tiote's left-footed screamer to level score at 4 all in 2011, Newcastle-Arsenal is a clash to always look forward too, and Super Sunday present another EPL showdown.
If you haven't seen Dennis Bergkamp roulette goal and Cheick Tiote's screamer, have a look;
HOST; NEWCASTLE UNITED:
Popularly known as the Magpies, Newcastle easily fit into the EPL boogie teams' category as they can be a thorn in the flesh of the EPL big boys, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City will attest to that. Unfortunately, despite owner Mike Ashley's investment in the team, they have not been able to replicate the prowess and feat of the mid-90s team(that include David Ginola, Les Ferdinand, Alan Shearer etc) that came 2nd in the league in 1995/96 & 96/97 seasons consecutively.
Newcastle has had a busy summer transfer window so far, starting with the change of manager after Steve Bruce replaced Rafael Benitez, the Magpies has since gone on to bring in a Markie signing in the shape of the £40M-rated-Brazilian striker Joelinton, a statement of intent by Newcastle.
VISITOR; ARSENAL FC:
Arsenal is now in the 2nd season of post-Wenger era under Unai Emery, though the Spaniard failed to qualified the team for the UEFA Champions League in a rather disappointing manner having had the chance to do so, he can be cut some slack for even trying and being in the run-in in the 1st place as nobody gave Arsenal the chance.
Arsenal's post and pre season began with calls from several quarters advising the club and manager to rebuild a frailty defence which has been in decline since the end of the famous invisible backline that includes Sol Campbell, Kolo Toure, Ashley Cole, Mayer Lauren etc. Incredibly, the Gunners surprised her fans and neutrals with the acquisition of Nicolas Pepe in reported world-record fees of about £72M, club breaking her transfer record(having initially claimed to have a limited budget of about £45M) on a winger rather than a much-needed defender created some divided opinion amongst fans and neutrals alike. However, with the window still open for some few hours, that could well change with the imminent arrival of left-back Kierran Tierney and Center-back David Luiz(not the markie defender hoping for but much betterer than Arsenal"s current defenders).
HEAD-TO-HEAD; NEWCASTLE VS ARSENAL:
Arsenal did a double over their host Newcastle last season, winning 2-1 & 2-0 respectively and had also won 4 of the last 5 premier league meetings(Newcastle W1-W4 Arsenal), safe to say Arsenal has the psychological advantage over Newcastle but it doesn't always work according to scripts.
PREDICTION:
Arsenal's opening day results don't leave to much to be admired, with just 3 wins in their last 10 opening round fixtures(W3 L4 D3) dated back to 2009 season opener, Newcastle will be relishing their chances come Sunday. With the arrival of new signings, it's uncertain which kind of lineup and tactics both managers will put on matchday, it looks like Arsenal might just edge it,
Newcastle 1-2 Arsenal
I hope will all see an exciting match between these 2 on Sunday. Thank you all.
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