Eddie Howe is backing Anthony Gordon to deliver ‘great things’ for Newcastle United after returning to the starting line-up.
Gordon started his first match in over two months as Newcastle beat Chelsea 2-0 at St James’ Park last weekend. Now the 24-year-old is set to start once again at the Emirates Stadium as Newcastle face Arsenal in their penultimate game of the season.
Gordon scored home and away against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final while also assisting Alexander Isak’s winner in the 1-0 Premier League win at St James’ Park in November. His last goal for Newcastle came against The Gunners in the Carabao Cup second leg at St James’ Park as he looks to get back amongst the goals before the end of the campaign.
Newcastle sit third in the Premier League table with two games left to play. Another win in their final two games would secure Champions League qualification while a victory at the Emirates would see The Magpies head into the final day against Everton sitting second in the table.
Anthony Gordon - Newcastle United’s big game player
Gordon developed a reputation as Newcastle’s ‘big game player’ for his impressive performances against the so-called ‘big’ teams in the Premier League. The winger has scored big goals for Newcastle against Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Aston Villa in the Premier League alone.
But given it’s been four months since his last league goal, the stage is set for Gordon to make an impact in Newcastle’s final two games against Arsenal and his former club Everton.
“I think Anthony's got that focus and the ability to raise his game for the big occasion, which is a great thing for any player to have,” Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe told The Gazette.
“It's also a challenge to be consistent in every kind of game. I also think he has the ability to do that as well. But he's definitely been exposed to big games in his career.
“You think of the international stage and the games that he's had with us. So despite him being quite young still in his career, he's still going through some important years in his development. I think he's got that strength of character to know when he needs to deliver.”
‘Difficult challenges’ for Anthony Gordon
Gordon was named Newcastle’s player of the season last year after contributing 12 goals and 16 assists in all competitions. This season has been a slightly different story for the England international after strong transfer links to Liverpool, a frustrating Euro 2024 campaign.
But he has still contributed nine goals and seven assists this season with only Jacob Murphy and Alexander Isak having more goal involvements.
Assessing Gordon’s campaign, Howe said: “Yeah, I'd say possibly [more up and down]. I think he's had a lot of difficult challenges thrown at him this year, none more so than the summer he had last year, which was, I think, difficult on the international stage.
“Probably for the second or third time, he's had to deal with a lot of media speculation. And that's something you can never know how you're going to react to. I'd say on the pitch, we probably haven't seen him at his absolute fluent best consistently enough.
“He's had some very, very good games that maybe not had the run of games that he had the previous season. But he's still fundamentally a very important player for us. And he has the ability to be whatever he wants to be at the age that he is.
“So I can only see great things ahead.”
Anthony Gordon annoys Arsenal fans for Emirates celebration
Gordon’s Carabao Cup semi-final goal at the Emirates Stadium caused a bit of a stir amongst Arsenal supporters as the Newcastle winger recreated Thierry Henry’s corner flag celebration.
“I had it in my mind before the game, Henry is just a legend isn't he?” Gordon explained. “He's one of the best ever in the Premier League so what better place to do the celebration than the Emirates?
“I hope it wasn't taken as disrespectful, it was meant as a compliment to him really - an iconic player, a left-winger - a great moment.”
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