Eddie Howe reveals sneaky Arsenal trick that backfired and thanks Newcastle United fans

Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has thanked the Toon Army for playing a major part in helping the Magpies secure a magnificent victory over Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta's side won the toss and decided to flip the teams around so that Newcastle would have to defend the Gallowgate End in the second half. Over the years teams have realised that shooting towards the Gallowgate in the second half gives sides a slight advantage as they are essentially shooting down the bank rather than an uphill battle.

Both Arsenal and Brighton have opted to make Newcastle shoot towards the Gallowgate in the first half in the last two matches. However, the move backfired as Alexander Isak headed the only goal of the game after just 12 minutes and the Gunners failed to conjure up the equaliser.

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After the game against Arteta's side Howe told me: "The crowd are always helping us at home. When we got the first goal, it was a key moment for us, especially with them involved.

"It gave us something to hold on to, and enabled us to play in the way we did in the second half. I actually think defending the Gallowgate End helped us at the end because it felt as though we were all having the same aim in the stadium."

Fans chanted Howe's name constantly throughout both halves but there were big signs Newcastle are returning to the stage in which they ruffled the feathers of some of the big guns. Indeed, two years ago, Newcastle booked a place in the Champions League by getting under the skin of the opposition.

Howe said: "I think there are a lot of similarities, yes, a lot of similarities in our Champions League qualification season. I can remember lots of games that took similar paths, really.

"It wasn't necessarily the path that we expected the game to go today, that wasn't necessarily the game that we envisaged it would be, but then you have to adapt.

"The goal, I think, had a big bearing on the game. Second half, we had to be really smart with what we did and a big compliment to everybody to how we defended ou goal in that period."