· 16 May 2025, 21:00
**Arsenal and Newcastle United go head-to-head for the fourth time this season on Sunday as the two sides meet at the Emirates at 4:30 pm, live on Sky Sports.**
It's currently 3-0 to Newcastle this season, and Eddie Howe will be hoping to turn that to 4-0 for the season on Sunday.
Newcastle fans will probably be hoping so even more than the gaffer, as the two fan bases have struck up quite a fierce rivalry online, and there seems to be quite a dislike of Mikel Arteta amongst the fan base. Or is that just in our office?
Whereas we often praise the class of Pep Guardiola, who always has good things to say about Newcastle, we don't expect compliments to come our way from the mouth of Mikel Arteta.
Mikel Arteta praised the job Eddie Howe has done at Newcastle
-------------------------------------------------------------
However, when the Spaniard met the media this morning, he actually spoke highly of Eddie Howe and Newcastle United. First of all, Arteta was asked if Newcastle were a bogey team for Arsenal.
The Gunners boss answered by praising the job Eddie Howe has done for the club.
> "Well, a very difficult team for any opposition. I think what Eddie \[Howe\], the staff and what they have done in the last few years is remarkable and they've been very, very consistent, very difficult to play against like we've been."
We are slightly disarmed by Arteta being complimentary
------------------------------------------------------
He was then asked what makes Newcastle so hard to play against, and he once again heaped spoonfuls of praise on the way the Magpies play.
> "Well, they dominate almost every aspect of the game. They are great when they have to attack a low block, and they have a lot of presence on the board. They need to go on set-piece, they need to go on transition, they need to defend a low block. The game has to get physical. They are ready to do that. The way they compete, they are smart. They try to take advantage of a lot of things like any good team. You have to dominate a lot of things. You know you're on the top of the table in this league."
We're not sure how we feel about this. Compliments from Mikel Arteta. It's disarming.
Wait, no, don't fall for it, Ash, he's an insufferable baby. Keep focused!