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Eddie Howe addresses Arsenal's 'dark arts' talk head on - and makes pre-game promise
EDDIE HOWE will be urging his Newcastle United players to do “whatever it takes” to get a positive result against an Arsenal side who have questioned the Magpies’ use of the ‘dark arts’ in the last couple of seasons.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was one of the first opposition bosses to criticise Newcastle’s tactics and game management during the season that ended with Howe’s side qualifying for the Champions League, with the Spaniard repeatedly claiming that the Magpies’ “timewasting” went beyond the limits of what should be permitted.
Last season, the rivalry between the two clubs was ratcheted up even more with Arteta reacting furiously to Anthony Gordon’s controversial winner as Arsenal suffered a 1-0 defeat at St James’ Park. Arteta branded the decision to allow Gordon’s close-range strike to stand as an “absolute disgrace”, even though it had been extensively checked and cleared by VAR.
Arsenal are back on Tyneside tomorrow lunchtime, with Newcastle in desperate need of a positive result after dropping into the bottom half of the Premier League table last weekend. The Magpies have been too easy to play against on a number of occasions this season, so while Howe wants his players to remain within the limits of the law, he would like to see a return of some of the traits that have infuriated Arsenal in the past.
“When you are winning games, if you are leading games, everything is different compared to when you are chasing games,” said Howe. “In part, it (Newcastle’s use of the ‘dark arts’) was over-hyped and talked about more because we were in that position a lot that season (when they finished fourth).
“This season we have not been in that position as often, so you end up being the reactive team trying to chase the game effectively. We don’t want to be in that position, we want to be the team in control.
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“But certainly, doing whatever it takes to win, as long as it is within the rules, I’m a firm believer in that. The ability we had to close out tight games that season was incredibly good. We managed games really well.”
Howe’s Newcastle have tended to be at their best when they have been playing close to the edge, particularly when they have also had the backing of a raucous St James’ Park support.
The atmosphere should be bristling when tomorrow’s game kicks off, and Howe is hoping his players will be spurred on by what looks certain to be an intense occasion.
“I think all of that has brought the best out of us historically,” he said. “Especially in our Champions League season, I think we relished those games.
“That tended to bring out the best in us but I think, psychologically, we were in a slightly different place, the whole club was in a slightly different place. We need to make sure we are adaptable enough to bring that when we need it, and also bring another side to our game when we need it too.
“You can have an idea how a game will follow through but it doesn’t always work in that way. So, adaptability is key. If someone, another team or even ourselves, are going to bring that side of our game and it is going to help us in that moment, then it needs to be done.”
