Newcastle United handed injury blow ahead of Arsenal clash as attacker ruled out

Newcastle United will be without one of their summer signings for this weekend’s tasty-looking Premier League clash with Arsenal. The Magpies have not had an ideal start to the season, only picking up six points from a possible 15, while they also lost their first Champions League game, although that was against Barcelona.

Eddie Howe’s men are going to need to find consistency if they are going to battle for a Champions League spot again this season, and they have the chance to make a big statement on Sunday when they face Arsenal at St James’ Park.

The Gunners have enjoyed a solid start, winning three of their first five games and only losing once. Mikel Arteta’s men are already five points behind leaders Liverpool, but they will feel as though they have plenty of time to make up that lost ground.

Then again, that is contingent on them enjoying a consistent run of form, and an away clash at Newcastle is going to be one of their trickier games this season. The Magpies will view the game the same way, though, and Howe is dealing with an injury issue in his squad.

Summer signing Yoane Wissa, who joined from Brentford on a deal worth up to £55million, but he will not face Arsenal after picking up an injury in his early time in the North East.

Howe confirmed ahead of Newcastle’s Carabao Cup clash with Bradford City: “He's receiving treatment and no operation is needed. I think we're looking at the other side of the international break. We hope he can be fit and available for that first game."

Howe also confirmed that he wants his players to be fresh for the Arsenal game, suggesting likely rotation. He said: "There'll be an element of rotation again. The guys that have played three games last week we might look to give them a rest. We want to pick a strong team and we want to try and progress so I have to get the balance right. You don't want players to lose rhythm - that's really important."

Asked about his side’s need for more goals, he added: "It's up to everybody to chip in with goals. Historically, we've done that really well. Our defenders have been regular goalscorers, either from set plays or open play. We're looking at sources of goals from everywhere and we can't be reliant on any one department.

“The creativity of the team in the midfield and the wide areas has been really strong for us and our full-backs have been some of our best attackers in recent seasons and that has to be the case again."

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