Arsenal vs Newcastle and the Premier League's brand new grudge match
It is the grudge match that no one would have foreseen two years ago but Saturday's clash between Arsenal and Newcastle could have as many fireworks in the technical areas as on the pitch.
Mikel Arteta and Eddie Howe are among the most animated head coaches around and the reverse fixture was so packed with controversy that animosity is a given before even factoring in the importance of a win for both sides as the Gunners cling on to their title hopes and the Toon begin to run out of time in a race for Europe.
Anthony Gordon’s goal earned three points for the Tynesiders at St James’ Park - but there were three complaints from Arsenal, who were furious that VAR did not rule the goal out.
It led to Arteta raging against the standard of officiating, saying it left him feeling sick and ashamed, and the club put out a statement afterwards backing his complaints.
Yet there was also fury around two missed red cards during the game, increasing the anger further. Kai Havertz was lucky to escape a red for a foul on Sean Longstaff, while Bruno Guimaraes was similarly fortunate to stay on the pitch.
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But this rivalry had been bubbling. Both of last season’s fixtures brought flashpoints that ended with Newcastle boss Howe being accused of hypocrisy.
Last year’s meeting at the Emirates, a scoreless draw, concluded with both squaring up to each other over a contentious refereeing decision. Arsenal had pleaded for a penalty when they thought Jacob Murphy handled the ball inside the area. But when it was not given Arteta and some of his backroom team made their feelings known to the officials. That irked Howe and a row followed.
Before the reverse game at St James’ Park, the Newcastle boss sought to play it down. "Within a game you’ll always have moments where you come up against opponents and there’s a bit of confrontation – I think that’s natural, that’s part of the job – but there’s certainly no issues my side,” he said, before praising his opposite number. “You have to admire everything that he’s done, whether that’s recruitment, coaching, everything. So a lot of respect from me to him.”
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta (CameraSport via Getty Images)Yet the meeting on Tyneside in May, which Arsenal won 2-0, left Howe irritated again as he pointed towards what he perceived was gamesmanship from the visitors. Aaron Ramsdale was accused of taking too long over his kicks while Granit Xhaka, subsequently sold to Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen, earned howls of derision from the home fans for going down injured on several occasions.
"They managed the game well from their perspective," Howe said. "They slowed it down, lots of breaks in play, which was frustrating for us. Naturally, we wanted the ball in play more. Especially when you’re chasing the game.
"But we have to look at what we can control. We can’t control that. That’s the referee’s job. What we can control is taking our chances and possibly defending better than we did today." Asked about it afterwards, a prickly Arteta delivered a curt response: "For sure, our team is not like that.”
Except complaints from Newcastle about ball in play time seemed rather rich when their games throughout the campaign had less than any other Premier League side.
And the animosity festered until their meeting in early November and that remarkable rant from Arteta, which was admired in some quarters for its honesty and derided in others for heaping pressure on referees, brought everything to a new level.
Arsenal and Newcastle players exchange views during November's feisty encounter at St James' Park after Kai Havertz tackled Sean Longstaff (AFP via Getty Images)“You get criticised for being honest and many other people fully agree with that,” Arteta said yesterday. “You know that when you talk publicly, you are not going to please everybody. At the end of the game, we have to be in front of the mic straight away and face those questions. People expect to hear our answers in an honest and straightway. And that’s what I did.”
But little has been done to smooth the feelings between clubs - even if Howe has tried to play down the rivalry. “I don’t think squared up is quite the way I saw it. That is painting a different image to the one I remember,” he said. “Mikel is a very passionate guy. He will defend his team. I am the same. I will defend my team. I like to think there is a lot of mutual respect between us both.”
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So on to this Saturday evening we go, with the stakes even higher. When the heat rises tonight, do not be surprised to see emotions on the touchline boil over.
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