Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted that Newcastle United is very difficult to play against.
Arteta’s side would face Newcastle for the fourth time this season when both teams clash on Sunday at the Emirates stadium.
In their three encounters this campaign the Magpies emerged winners in the meetings, scoring five goals without conceding.
A win for Newcastle, who are on 66 points, would see them move above Arsenal into second in the league table.
“They’re a very difficult team for any opposition, I think,” Arteta said during his pre-match press conference on Friday. “What Eddie, the staff and as a club they’ve have done over the last few years is remarkable. They’ve been very, very consistent and very difficult to play against, like we’ve been.”
The Spaniard explained what makes Newcastle United so difficult to play against.
“They dominate almost every aspect of the game. They are great when they have to attack a low block and they have a lot of presence in the box. If they need to run set-pieces, run transitions, defend a low block or if the game has to get physical, they are ready to do that.
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“The way they compete, they are smart. They try to take advantage of a lot of things like any good team, and you have to dominate a lot of things, even if you’re not on top of the table in this league.”
On if Newcastle could be in the conversation of title contenders next season, Arteta said:”Yeah, they’ve certainly built the squad, they have the quality and a very clear identity. On top of that, it would be very dependent on if teams are in Europe or not in Europe, playing once a week or three times a week. That’s a massive change as well and we have all experienced that.”
Meanwhile there is the possibility that Kai Havertz could make a return from injury this weekend against Eddie Howe’s men.
When asked if Havertz could be involved against the Carabao Cup winners;”We’re going to decide that tomorrow. He’s done certain parts of the sessions in the last two days and looks in great shape, but I think it’s more of a shout for all the medical staff, the doctor especially to give the clearance and then how Kai actually feels to contribute if he’s required.”
Also, he gave injury updates and availability for Declan Rice, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli and Jurrien Timber.
“They’ve done parts of the session, not a complete session, so we’re going to have to wait and see tomorrow if they can deal with things that they haven’t done because they weren’t ready to that at the end of the week.”
