Graeme Souness believes that only the Etihad is a tougher place to go and win than St James’ Park at the moment, as Arsenal face a trip to Newcastle on Sunday. The Gunners are battling to stay in the Premier League title race, a race they were leading for much of the season but now find themselves lagging behind leaders Manchester City. Mikel Arteta’s side realistically need to win all their remaining matches and hope Pep Guardiola’s men unexpectedly slip up, but Souness feels they may struggle on Sunday, especially after their recent defeat to City. The Liverpool legend believes the new era of Newcastle has already turned St James’ Park into a fortress, and reminiscent of having to go to Anfield when the Reds were at their best.
‘Other than Manchester City, the one place you don’t want to go needing a result right now is Newcastle,’ Souness wrote in his Daily Mail column. ‘Arsenal will find that out on Sunday and this a real test of their ability to stay in the title race. Their last away game, at City, they were beaten up. They were lucky not to concede seven. They were better in midweek at home to Chelsea, but the visitors were woeful. Newcastle will be the opposite of that. I hear their fans are planning another display with their flags and scarves. It looks like a special place to be playing your football. I have managed there. On the occasions we got it going, St James’ Park really is unique. For me, it is right up there with Anfield.’
Newcastle suffered a surprise 3-0 defeat to Aston Villa last month but have since gone on something of a rampage, winning three on the spin and scoring 13 goals in the process. They have lost just once at home all season, although Arsenal have the best away record in the league over the current campaign. With both sides in fine form, Sunday’s match promises to be an exciting one. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more stories like this.