Key events
Preamble
It’s the Walls and Bridges derby! Whatever gets you through lunchtime, s’alright.
A lot has happened between Newcastle and Arsenal since young Winston O’Boogie illustrated that FA Cup final. George Eastham, Marc Overmars and Nicolas Anelka, Cheik Tioté, all that. So let’s just fast forward to last November, when this blew up in everyone’s startled coupon …
… and we never heard the end of it for aeons. That was a rare victory for Toon against the Gunners, who went on to avenge their loss with a 4-1 rout at the Emirates three months later; Arsenal have therefore won nine of the last 12 Premier League matches against Newcastle. So depending which way you slice it, recent history either favours the hosts or visitors. No need to thank us, we’re here to help, but suffice to say it’s set up nicely: Newcastle need to haul themselves back into the race for Europe, while Arsenal are desperate to keep on Manchester City and Liverpool’s tail. Kick-off is at 12.30pm GMT. It’s on!
