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Newcastle and Arsenal kick off their 2011-12 Premier League campaigns at St. James Park, as both teams split two league meetings before the Gunners enjoyed a 4-0 success in the Carling Cup.
Transfer news has run rampant around both clubs, especially on the Arsenal side, as manager Arsene Wenger has been deflecting media members all week leading up to this fixture.
“I believe the best thing for us, one day before the season starts, is not to focus on the possible transfers, Wenger stated Friday. He hasn’t ruled out further additions, including Birmingham defender Scott Dann.
Arsenal will be playing this fixture without star duo Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, as both have been linked to possible transfers to Barcelona and Manchester City respectively.
The Gunners will likely have Robin van Persie, Thomas Vermaelen, Kieran Gibbs, Theo Walcott, Aaron Ramsey and Andrew Arshavin on the pitch, as all have been dealing with fitness issues.
Van Persie is especially important to the club’s chances, scoring 18 league goals a season ago, as no other club member entered the top 20.
A season opener in Tyneside is not the best situation for Arsenal, winning just three times in the last nine Premier League meetings, as Newcastle has one twice and the others ending in draws.
The Magpies have historically held their own on their home pitch, capturing wins in 40 of 77 league games when facing the Gunners.
Newcastle winger Hatem Ben Arfa will not be available for manager Alan Pardew’s club in Saturday night’s clash. He suffered a ankle injury during the pre-season that forced him out of the club’s tour of America and is likely five to six weeks away from returning.
Mike Williamson, Danny Guthrie and Shane Ferguson have been deemed fit for the match, while transfer-listed Joey Barton must assure Pardew that he’s fully committed to contribute.
Many fans of both sides are still talking about last year’s epic 4-4 draw, as Newcastle staged a stunning second-half comeback to salvage one of the most unlikely draws of the Premier League last season.
The Toon Army are hoping that their manager’s moves of bringing in Yohan Cabaye, Demba Ba, Gabriel Obertan and Sylvian Marveaux will lead to more wins.
“We have a much younger team this year and I think we will have more energy on the pitch in all areas,” Pardew commented. “We perhaps won’t have the depth of experience that we had, but that can be made up with exuberance and no lack of ability.”
At the time of this writing, the following odds were available at Bookmaker: Arsenal (Even), Newcastle United (+265), Draw (+230) and the total is 2.5
