Paul Merson has predicted the result of Newcastle vs Arsenal in ‘huge’ Premier League game

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Arsenal face Newcastle this weekend in game that is almost a must-win for both teams.

Eddie Howe is under a bit of pressure at Newcastle right now after a poor run of form as of late, but this is a chance for the Magies to pick up a statement win.

Arsenal have won just three of their last seven league games, and Newcastle will be hoping to extend that mediocre run of form.

Arsenal have struggled against Newcastle as of late, failing to beat the Tyneside outfit in both of their league meetings last season.

Arsenal will want to put things right on that front, but that will be easier said than done.

Writing in his column for Sportskeeda, Paul Merson has been previewing this game, and he’s shared his prediction for this match.

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Paul Merson predicts Newcastle vs Arsenal

Merson shared his verdict on how this game will go.

The pundit says that this is a huge game for Arsenal, and he’s backing his former team to get a win here.

“This is a huge game for Arsenal. It’s one where you look at and think, ‘Arsenal must win this one’. Liverpool face Brighton & Hove Albion this weekend and they already beat them in the Carabao Cup in midweek, so we’re expecting the same result again. You also expect Manchester City to beat Bournemouth so Arsenal cannot afford to slip up,” Merson said.

“Newcastle beat Chelsea during the cup game in midweek, but I doubt they can back it up with another win on Saturday. Alexander Isak seems to have returned to form and Anthony Gordon is always a threat with his pace. But I feel they are too open at the back and good teams can always pick them apart. When they have all their players in good form, Newcastle are a proper team but that isn’t the case at the moment. Arsenal win for me in this one!”

Which Arsenal players are injured?

Arsenal have had to field something of a depleted squad in recent matches as they’ve struggled with injuries and suspensions.

William Saliba is back from suspension for this match, and while Gabriel Magalhaes picked up an injury against Liverpool last week, Gabriel may be back fit to play in this game.

Sadly though, Ben White, Martin Odegaard and Riccardo Calafiori may also be unavailable.

“Riccy [Calafiori] and Martin [Odegaard] are out definitely,” Arteta said in his press conference.

“With Ben [White], we don’t know yet because he hasn’t trained yet. He could not train, he could not get involved, so let’s wait and see if he’s available or not.”

Odegaard is expected to return later this month, which is a serious boost for Arsenal, but the Gunners do head into this game with a depleted backline.

Whether or not Arsenal can beat Newcastle with this makeshift XI remains to be seen, but as the Gunners have seen in recent years, any trip to St James’ Park is usually incredibly difficult.