Arsenal win piles pressure on Newcastle United and new head coach Eddie Howe

By John Sinnott, CNN

After playing 13 Premier League games, Newcastle United still haven’t won a match, the club’s latest setback coming in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat by Arsenal.

The loss ensured Newcastle stay bottom of the table on six points, five points behind fourth from bottom Leeds United.

Saturday’s match was the first time Newcastle’s new head coach Eddie Howe was in the technical area as he grapples with the task of ensuring the club’s Premier League survival.

Appointed earlier this month after Newcastle’s new owners sacked Steve Bruce, Howe missed the 3-3 draw with Brentford after testing positive for Covid-19.

Arsenal were well worth the win, a dominant performance that was rewarded by two beautifully taken second-half goals by Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.

‘Tough call’

This was Newcastle’s third Premier League match following the club’s controversial takeover by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, PIF owns 80% of the club, with the rest divided between RB Sports & Media and PCP Capital Partners, whose chief executive led the takeover.

In between Arsenal’s goals, Newcastle claimed a penalty after striker Callum Wilson went down in the box after a challenge from Nuno Tavares but play continued.

“The game was decided in the incident with Callum Wilson and the penalty — a tough call against us — then they scored in the aftermath,” Howe told BT Sport.

“Momentum in football is so important. We need to get that win as quickly as we can.”

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