Newcastle player rules himself out of Leeds game as £30m target enjoys St James’ Park visit

Newcastle United player rules himself out of Leeds United match - facing ‘five or six weeks’ out

Newcastle United captain Jamaal Lascelles is set to be out for the remainder of the season with a calf injury picked up while working in the gym. The defender was at St James’ Park once again on Sunday as a Martin Odegaard strike and Fabian Schar own goal condemned The Magpies to only their second home defeat of the season.

And in his pre-match programme notes, Lascelles revealed the extent of his injury.

“I’ve picked up a calf problem which will probably see me out for five or six weeks,” he said. “But I’ll still be at every game, supporting the boys.

“It’s a real shame, but I’m confident I’ll have a speedy recovery.

“I’m able to walk just fine. I’m doing the bikes at the moment, and I think I’ll be able to ramp things up pretty quickly. I just have to keep a sense of perspective - it’s part and parcel of the game.”

Ahead of the match, Newcastle welcomed Allan Saint-Maximin back from injury after five matches out as the winger returned to the bench. Meanwhile, Sean Longstaff is set to see a specialist with his foot injury worse than initially suspected.

Eddie Howe’s bold Newcastle United call

For the first time, Eddie Howe named both Callum Wilson and Alexander Isak in the same Newcastle starting line-up. Both players have been in fine form with Wilson’s impact coming largely off the bench after he scored eight goals in just two starts in April.

Wilson started the match as a central striker, coming in for Anthony Gordon, with Isak out on the left. Initially it seemed to work wonders for United as they made a fast-paced start to the game, hitting the post inside the opening 90 seconds through Jacob Murphy.

The Magpies also thought they’d won an early penalty after Bruno Guimaraes’ strike hit off the arm of Jakub Kiwior. Referee Chris Kavanagh quickly pointed to the spot before a VAR intervention forced an overturn.

And Newcastle supporters were quick to voice their frustrations towards Kavanagh, who previously made a controversial decision to award a penalty against United at Brentford just last month.

Minutes later, Arsenal took the lead with their first shot of the match as Odegaard’s strike from distance arrowed into the bottom right corner.

Howe’s decision to start both Isak and Wilson, while a positive one, did take away that added bite Newcastle had been able to provide off the bench in recent weeks. Every game Newcastle have won at St James’ Park in 2023 has seen a goal scored by a substitute - it wasn’t to be on this occasion.

What Mikel Arteta did ahead of Newcastle United match to motivate Arsenal players

Arsenal’s previous visit to St James’ Park wasn’t a happy one with captain Martin Odegaard describing it as one of the worst nights of his career as it ultimately cost them a Champions League place to bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Newcastle completely outplayed The Gunners last May as they claimed a 2-0 win, all but ending their top four hopes heading into the final day of the season.

A behind the scenes clip from All or Nothing: Arsenal on Amazon Prime revealed the scenes in the Arsenal dressing room after the match as Arteta said: “It doesn’t matter what I say, it doesn’t matter what you say, now it’s too late. They were 10,000 times better than us today.

“In everything, with earning the right to play, we didn’t win a f****** duel, we didn’t win a second ball, we were horrible with the f****** ball.

“With the organisation, we have nothing, guys. Nothing. So now, shut your mouth and eat it. We could have conceded eight goals. If you see their chances, you will cry.”

Ahead of Sunday’s return to St James’, Arteta showed his players the clip as a means of motivation ahead of the match. And it seemed to work as Arsenal remain in the hunt for the Premier League title having already guaranteed Champions League qualification.

Saudi banner flown above St James’ Park

At the start of the match which was broadcast live on Sky Sports, a plane was flown above St James’ Park with a banner reading ‘free all Saudi prisoners @SANAD_EN,’ speaking out against the Kingdom’s human rights record.

SANAD is a human rights organisation dedicated to defending those who have been exposed to violations in Saudi Arabia.

After the plan flew over St James’ Park, SANAD’s official English speaking Twitter account posted: “Sports Washing deals at the expense of the miserable human rights situation in Saudi Arabia have to be stopped.”

Newcastle United transfer target enjoys St James’ Park visit

Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney is one of Newcastle’s top transfer targets this summer and is understood to be open to a move given his lack of starts this season. The 25-year-old came off the bench to replace Oleksandr Zinchenko on the hour mark for his 19th substitute appearance of the Premier League season.

Tierney was able to help Arsenal see out the win as he kept Miguel Almiron quiet following the Paraguayan’s introduction.

The Scottish international could be returning to St James’ Park sooner than expected with a £30million transfer up for discussion this summer.

Joelinton injury worry

In the closing stages of the match, Brazilian midfielder Joelinton was withdrawn in what appeared to be a tactical change at the time as Elliot Anderson was introduced.

But the Newcastle No. 7 looked to be in some discomfort after the game as he struggled to climb the six steps out of the tunnel before limping heavily out of St James’ Park.

Howe will be hoping Joelinton’s knock is not too serious or else he risks having to change his midfield up once again for the visit to Leeds United on Saturday (12:30pm kick-off).