MONDAY PREMIER LEAGUE: The Striker previews Monday’s Premier League game between NEWCASTLE v ARSENAL with a recommended BETDAQ bet and extended match stats.

NEWCASTLE V ARSENAL

8pm It’s the final week of the 2021/22 Premier League season and we start it with a cracker! Monday Night Football on BETDAQ Betting Exchange comes from St James’ Park as Newcastle host Arsenal. After losing last week to Spurs, and then Spurs beating Burnley on Sunday the pressure has really turned onto Arsenal now in the Top Four race. They still have it in their own hands however, two wins will see them finish fourth by one point. They have home advantage against Everton on the final day, and to be honest this is probably the fixture that things can go wrong.

We all know that Arsenal have been dodgy over the last few years away from home. They have definitely improved under Arteta in that department. They have grinded out a lot more wins this season, even when playing badly which is clearly a huge positive for Arsenal. This is a huge test though – they are under immense pressure and how they cope with it will form everyone’s opinion of them for the next while. We’ve see a lot of “classic Arsenal” comments if they fail to win. If they could grind out a win and show everyone that they have a backbone, we could see a new Arsenal come out. You never know what Manchester United side we’re going to get next season, and Arsenal could go back-to-back Top Four finishes, but they need to start here and win tonight.

Newcastle have been excellent since the January transfer window. A couple of weeks ago it even looked like they might challenge for a top ten finish. Obviously they have bumped into a difficult fixture list having had to play Liverpool and Manchester City back-to-back. I think we can forgive any side losing to those two – I know they got hammered by City but they kept Liverpool down to one goal here. It will be interesting to see what tactics Newcastle opt for here – they essentially have nothing to play for so they might opt to play a more open game which you would imagine will suit Arsenal.

Nothing went right for Arsenal against Spurs. It was just a write off from start to finish. When you give away a penalty and get a man sent off in the opening 30 minutes, it’s always a long way back. I’m happy to write off that game, but obviously it has piled on the pressure here. Arsenal were playing superb football heading into that fixture, and it might have knocked their confidence a little but they were creating so many chances prior to the Spurs game. They created an xG figure of over 2.0 against Chelsea, Manchester United and Leeds, and then also grinded out a hard fought win away to West Ham.

I know backing Arsenal away for home usually has to come with a wealth warning, and given the pressure I think that does apply here, but on balance I feel the 1.88 is worth a small investment. Newcastle just aren’t at Arsenal’s level and I know they were picking up nice wins against the likes of Wolves, Leicester, Crystal Palace and Norwich before the Liverpool and Man City games – but Arsenal are a level above the sides Newcastle were beating. If you forget about the Spurs game then Arsenal are in superb form. They are creating enough to win here and I would have them closer to 1.8 – but again it’s a bet to limit stakes on.

The Striker Says:
Two points win Arsenal to beat Newcastle at 1.88 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.

You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/NewArs

MATCH STATS

● Newcastle have lost 33 Premier League games against Arsenal, more than they have against any side in the competition.
● Arsenal have won 17 of their last 18 Premier League games against Newcastle, with the exception being a 2-1 defeat at St James’ Park in April 2018.
● Arsenal have won their last seven meetings with Newcastle in all competitions without conceding a single goal – the only top-flight side to beat another in more consecutive games without conceding is Liverpool against West Brom (9 between 2002 and 2010).
● This is the sixth Premier League meeting between Newcastle and Arsenal on Mondays, with only Tottenham v West Ham (8) and Liverpool v Everton (7) being played on the day more. Arsenal are unbeaten in all five such games so far (W4 D1), conceding just one goal in these games (F10).
● Newcastle have won their final home league game in six of the last eight seasons (L2), with the two exceptions being defeats against Liverpool in both 2018-19 and 2019-20.
● Arsenal have lost their final away league game in just one of the last 11 seasons (W7 D3), going down 1-0 at Aston Villa in 2019-20.
● Newcastle have won just two of their last 20 Premier League games on a Monday (D3 L15), while only on Thursdays (27%) do they have a lower win rate than they do on Mondays in the competition (29%).
● Arsenal haven’t won any of their three Monday league games this season (D1 L2), losing each of the last two. They last lost both three in a row on Mondays, and three Monday games in the same league season, back in 1992-93 under George Graham.
● After a run of six consecutive home league wins, Newcastle lost last time out at St James’ Park 1-0 against Liverpool. Only once this season have they lost consecutive home league games (October), while five of their last eight home league defeats have been against London sides.
● Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka has been involved in a goal in all three of his Premier League appearances against Newcastle (2 goals, 1 assist), though all three of these games have been at the Emirates Stadium.