Arteta’s team out to rewrite the St James’ Park narrative

By Danong 

Arsenal head to the North East this weekend to take on Newcastle United at St James’ Park.

Newcastle haven’t made the brightest start to the league campaign.

With just one win from five matches, three draws, and a defeat, it’s fair to say the Magpies aren’t flying high.

Arsenal, on the other hand, are on a solid run. Three wins, a narrow defeat against Liverpool and a frustrating stalemate with Manchester City suggest they’re building momentum.

Judging by form alone, the edge goes to Arsenal. But Newcastle at home are notoriously unpredictable.
This won’t be straightforward.

St James’ Park has long been one of Arsenal’s toughest away days. The Gunners haven’t scored more than two goals there since 2011. And since their 2-0 win in May 2023, they’ve suffered consecutive 1-0 defeats on Tyneside.

It’s a tricky fixture, and Mikel Arteta will need his side firing on all cylinders.

He’ll be frustrated to lose the bright spark of Noni Madueke to injury, but Saka's return to fitness is will add further power and trickery on the right hand side.

Martin Odegaard’s return to training offers a timely boost. Arteta might keep him on the bench and release him later on along with his finishers...

With Piero Hincapié, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz also sidelined, here’s a potential XI Arteta could deploy to outmuscle Newcastle’s physical approach:

Raya  
Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori  
Zubimendi, Rice, Merino  
Saka, Gyökeres, Eze

Some might argue Eze belongs in a central role, but even from the left wing, he can drift inside, allowing Calafiori to overlap and stretch the pitch.

A midfield trio of Merino, Rice and Zubimendi offers Arteta his most physically dominant setup, one capable of going to war with Newcastle’s physically imposing midfield.

Creativity shouldn’t be a concern. With Saka and Eze supplying quality in the final third, Arsenal should have enough to carve out goalscoring chances.

Five points adrift of Liverpool, who just lost 2-1 to Crystal Palace, Arsenal can’t afford to drop points when the gap is there to be narrowed.

Can Arsenal humiliate City again? Expected line up

By Danong 

Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola renew their rivalry on Sunday evening as Arsenal host Manchester City at the Emirates.  

Arteta is unbeaten in five games in all competitions against Guardiola. A win or draw today would see him become the only manager to go five games without defeat against Guardiola, one of Europe’s finest coaches.  

With Bukayo Saka and Ben White still injury doubts, there is a question mark if they can even be on the bench.

In their absence, Noni Madueke and Jurrien Timber have already demonstrated that they can be relied upon at right wing and right back, respectively.  

Elsewhere, having returned to Arsenal’s matchday squad in the 3–0 Champions League win over Athletic Club, William Saliba will be pushing to reclaim his place in Arteta’s starting XI.  

While Cristhian Mosquera impressed in his absence, the Frenchman is undroppable on his day and could well start alongside Gabriel Magalhaes at the heart of defence.  

The experience of the two should be enough to keep Erling Haaland, who is off to his brightest start to a league campaign with six goals in five games, at bay.  

Martin Odegaard may also miss this game with a shoulder injury. If so this will be a setback that will heavily influence Arteta's midfield selection.  

The bold decision will be to start Nawneri and it will be exciting to see that happen. But sticking with the safe option of Merino will probably be Arteta's choice.

That new front line of Eberechi Eze, Viktor Gyokeres and Madueke looked decent, though Eze has yet to exert the same influence he showed at Crystal Palace.

While there is a push to switch his position, he likely continues on the left wing.  

Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli both made impresive sub appearances against Athletic, combining for two goals. But doing it from the start is not something they have shown recently.

Arteta cannot afford to gamble with his line‑up and it seems likely he will stick with this unpopular selection:  

Raya  
Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori  
Zubimendi, Rice, Merino  
Madueke, Gyokeres, Eze  

Looking at this line‑up, the big concern is that, as was the case against Liverpool, Arsenal may once again adopt a cautious approach, playing with the handbrake on.  

Yet with Rodri looking unsteady and Tijjani Reijnders so attack‑minded, Arsenal’s midfield should, in terms of duels and physicality, overpower City’s.  

If they can dominate those battles, Arsenal should not only secure the result they need, but could do so in a manner that  humiliates the Cityzens, again.

Expect rotation, debuts and a youngster to start against Bilbao

 By Danong and 1970s Gooner

Arsenal kick off their 2025–26 Champions League campaign with a trip to Bilbao, where they'll face Athletic Club at the iconic San Mamés.

Arteta and his squad will be keen to replicate or even better their 3-0 thrashing of the La Liga side in last August's Emirates Cup.

Despite injury concerns surrounding Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and William Saliba, Arsenal have shown they can still field a formidable XI.

So far, the club's summer spending spree is paying off. As was the case against Nottingham Forest, Arteta has introduced new partnerships across the pitch, fresh faces in attack, a reshaped midfield, and young defender Cristhian Mosquera getting his chance. 

Yet, the Gunners looked strong against Ange Postecoglou's side.

But with such depth, fans are left guessing: who starts, who sits?

Against Bilbao, one would hope Arteta fields a strong team capable of kicking off the Champions League campaign in style.

Saka and Havertz are ofcourse unlikely to feature, but Saliba, who returned to training last Friday, is in contention to start.

With a big clash against Manchester City looming over the weekend, it would be wise for the Frenchman to build match fitness midweek, so he should start.

This fixture also presents the perfect opportunity for Kepa Arrizabalaga and Piero Hincapie to make their debuts. Both are more than capable of holding their own.

It would also be encouraging to see the Zubimendi–Rice–Odegaard trio continue to build chemistry in midfield.

This is if Odegaard has managed to overcome his shoulder injury sustained last Saturday. If as it looks likely he cannot make it then Nwaneri deserves to start due to his excellent display against Forest when he deputised for Odegaard.

Eze was decent against Forest from the left wing, and it's only right that he gets the chance to build on that performance.

Kepa  
Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie  
Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard /Nawneri
Madueke, Gyokeres, Eze

If Arteta goes with this line-up, Arsenal should be confident of leaving Spain with all three points.

Saliba will be on the bench

By Danong and 1970s Gooner 

Mikel Arteta and Ange Postecoglou renew their rivalry as Arsenal host Nottingham Forest in Saturday’s early Premier League kick-off at the Emirates.

Arteta remains unbeaten against Forest’s new boss in the league, and he’ll be determined to keep that record intact this weekend.

There’s a real air of unpredictability surrounding this fixture.

Will Postecoglou stick with Forest’s defensive, counter-attacking blueprint, or will he immediately impose his trademark high line and relentless gung-ho approach?

Arteta’s greatest asset heading into this clash is his side’s ability to focus on themselves, leaning on their strengths and trusting that their quality will see them through.

There’s been a timely injury boost, with Christian Nørgaard, William Saliba and Ben White returning to fitness. However, the Spaniard will be without key figures Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka.

Even so, thanks to the shrewd summer business conducted by the new sporting director Andrea Berta, Arsenal should still field a formidable XI.

Noni Madueke, fresh off a scintillating international break with England, looks ready to deputise for Saka. Viktor Gyökeres will aim to silence his doubters up front. 

At the same time, Cristhian Mosquera, who impressed against Liverpool in Saliba’s absence, should slot in confidently alongside Gabriel Magalhaes at the heart of defence (with Saliba rightfully rested for Champions League return and Manchester City).

Arteta could opt for this strong Arsenal line-up:

Raya  

Timber, Mosquera, Gabriel, Calafiori  

Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard  

Madueke, Gyökeres, Eze

While many expect Eze to feature in a left central midfield role, Arteta may trial him on the left wing, a position that’s posed problems for Arsenal in recent times with Gabriel Martinelli struggling.

And Eze will have the freedom to drift towards a left forward come midfield position with Calafiori providing the width on the left side.

If Eze thrives there, he could become the long-term solution for that spot.

Having lost their last outing (Liverpool 1–0 Arsenal), this fixture presents the perfect opportunity for the Gunners to bounce back.

If they can shake off the post-international break rust, Arsenal could extend their unbeaten run against Forest to five matches.