Arsenal’s brutal head to head record against Newcastle United since Eddie Howe was appointed
Arsenal and Newcastle collide in a crucial match at the top of the league table
Already at risk of dropping more points to Liverpool in the title race, Arsenal travel to a ground which has felt like kryptonite to them in recent seasons, St James’ Park.
Newcastle UNited are a well-drilled team that prides themselves on aggression, physicality, speed and intensity, and they are particularly formidable at St James’ Park when playing in front of their own supporters.
This is something the Gunners have experienced first-hand after suffering elimination in the semi-final stage of the Carabao Cup when Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon both found the net, while they also came unstuck in the Premier League back in November 2024 when an excellent first half-header from Alexander Isak proved to be the difference in a narrow 1-0 defeat.
After drawing with Manchester City and losing to Liverpool, Arsenal cannot afford to drop many more points if they are to fire themselves back to the summit. But how has Mikel Arteta fared on the whole against Newcastle United since Eddie Howe arrived and how does it compare to his record against Steve Bruce?
Arsenal have struggled against Newcastle United in recent seasons
Arsenal have won four, lost four and drawn one against Newcastle United across all competitions since Eddie Howe was appointed Magpies manager in November 2021.
The first meeting between the two sides came just two games into Howe’s tenure as Magpies manager. It was technically the former Bournemouth’s boss's first game in the dugout as he had missed the previous 3-3 game with Brentford because of Covid.
rsenal won the match 2-0 with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli finding the net. It was a result which left Howe’s side bottom of the table and at that stage five points away from safety after failing to win any of their opening 13 matches.
However, the Newcastle that Arsenal would face later in that same season would be a much stronger outfit, following the January additions of Bruno Guimaraes and Kieran Trippier among others. They had a feel good factor after surviving relegation and shocked the Gunners with a 2-0 home win to kill their hopes of Champions League qualification.
The following season Arsenal drew 0-0 at home, in a match which saw nine players receive yellow cards, but they avenged their defeat at St James’ Park by winning 2-0 through Martin Odegaard and a Fabian Schar own goal. That’s significantly Arteta’s only victory over Howe when playing in the North East of England.
In 2023/24, controversy struck when Newcastle won 1-0 at home through Anthony Gordon. Joe Willock had appeared to allow the ball to go out of play in the build-up to the goal but VAR judged it to still be on the line and allowed it to stand, sparking a furious post-match interview from Mikel Arteta. Arsenal won 4-1 at home that same season against Newcastle, with Kai Havertz, Saka and Kiwior scoring after a Sven Botman own goal.
Last season was Arsenal’s most difficult in terms of games against Newcastle. They fell to defeat three times in total and failed to score on any occasion. Newcastle’s win at the Emirates in the first leg of the Carabao Cup, however, was significantly their first since 2010 when Andy Carroll was leading the line. It’s worth noting, however, that Arsenal did win the last head-to-head against Newcastle in May, with Declan Rice deciding the game with a thunderous strike from distance.
Arsenal’s overall Premier League record makes much better reading
Overall, Arsenal have won 36, drawn 11 and lost just 13 of their matches against Newcastle. Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta has a record of eight wins, one draw and five matches against the Magpies.
However, it’s worth noting that four of his wins came when Steve Bruce was the manager in an era where the Magpies were fighting relegation as opposed to competing for a place in Europe.
Arsenal boast a strong record away from home, losing just one of their last 16 away trips. Although that did come quite recently against Liverpool at Anfield.