Ledley King says he was shocked Eddie Howe didn’t start £16.5m Newcastle player yesterday

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Ledley King has shared that he was shocked Eddie Howe didn’t start Allan Saint-Maximin for Newcastle United yesterday.

The Tottenham Hotspur legend was reflecting on the match at St. James’ Park on the Football Daily Podcast.

Eddie Howe will be rueing his side not taking advantage of their fast start to the game.

Jacob Murphy could have given the home side a very early lead, but his venomous strike hit the post.

Newcastle were also awarded a penalty in the opening minutes after the ball appeared to strike Jakub Kiwior’s arm.

After a lengthy check it was disallowed, and Arsenal started to get a grasp of the game at this point.

Martin Odegaard gave Arsenal the lead in the first half before a Fabian Schar own-goal doubled the visitor’s lead after the break.

Eddie Howe then turned to Allan Saint-Maximin to try and change the game for Newcastle.

The £16.5m winger is one of the most terrifying wingers in the league when on form.

He showed glimpses of that in his cameo yesterday, but ultimately couldn’t affect the result.

Howe should have started Newcastle start Saint-Maximin – King

Reviewing yesterday afternoon’s match, King said: “For me, it was a high-quality game.

“Both keepers had to make amazing saves, I thought it was great to see two English goalkeepers perform really well on the big stage today.

“I was a little bit surprised that Newcastle didn’t actually start with [Allan] Saint-Maximin and [Alexander] Isak down the centre.

“I feel that would have given Arsenal more problems. The way it finished, I know it was 2-0, but I felt like Saint-Maximin really does lift the crowd and get them going.

“They missed a little bit of that edge today.”

Eddie Howe has had so many in-form attackers to choose from at Newcastle that it’s not really a surprise Saint-Maximin didn’t start.

Injuries have affected his entire Newcastle career and this season has been no exception.

He started the campaign brilliantly, starring against Manchester City before scoring against Wolves.

Since then, three separate injuries have ruled him out at various points this season.

There have been suggestions that Saint-Maximin could be sold in the summer.

If he does leave, he’ll be praised by fans for his exciting style of play, however, many will wonder just how good he could have been if he had stayed fit.