Newcastle vs Arsenal LIVE!

Arsenal showed no sign of raising the white flag in the Premier League title race with a 2-0 victory at Newcastle on Sunday to close the gap on leaders Manchester City to one point.

Defeat would have left Arsenal's hopes of a first title since 2004 hanging by a thread but Martin Odegaard's brilliant strike and a Fabian Schar own goal sealed a vital victory.

Newcastle, bidding to cement third place and take a big step towards a top-four finish, dominated early on but Odegaard's sweet strike after 14 minutes gave the visitors the lead. Schar then inadvertently turned in Gabriel Martinelli's cross with 20 minutes remaining.

City, who have won 10 straight games to catch and then overhaul Arsenal, have 82 points from 34 games with the Gunners on 81 having played a game more.

Newcastle vs Arsenal highlights

• GOAL! Odegaard fires home!

• GOAL! Schar own goal makes it two

Newcastle United FC 0 - 2 Arsenal FC

Thanks for joining us!

19:09 , Marc Mayo

You can hop over to our live coverage of West Ham vs Man United if you fancy more football action tonight...

Or recap Arsenal beating Newcastle with our match report!

Arsenal keep title race alive

19:05 , Marc Mayo

“It was a performance full of fight and heart from Arsenal, as they coped with the atmosphere and physical approach from Newcastle.”

Read up on how the Gunners managed today’s huge win with Simon’s analysis!

Arsenal player ratings

19:01 , Marc Mayo

Simon handed out an 8/10 to Jorginho for his star turn at St James’ Park.

Read the full story!

18:30 , Alex Young

96min: Full time! A huge win.

18:23 , Alex Young

91min: Six minutes added on.

18:17 , Alex Young

85min: Trippier goes down theatrically inside the area, wants a penalty but won’t be getting one.

18:13 , Alex Young

80min: Trossard and Partey on, Martinelli and Odegaard off for Arsenal.

18:11 , Alex Young

79min: Wilson and Willock off for Gordon and Saint-Maximin.

18:07 , Alex Young

75min: It's been a long time coming but a Newcastle player has been booked!

Burn for a foul on Saka.

GOAL!

18:05 , Alex Young

72min: That should be that!

Martinelli does well down the left flank on the counter, drives to the touchline and pulls it back for Schar to punt into his own net.

18:00 , Alex Young

67min: Jesus just shrieked out in pain as Schar leaves an elbow in on his face.

How has he got away with that.

17:58 , Alex Young

65min: Newcastle make their first change as Almiron replaces Murphy.

17:54 , Alex Young

61min: Tierney is on, replacing Zinchenko.

17:52 , Alex Young

59min: An incredible, surely goal-saving sliding tackle from Xhaka to deny Willock inside the area. The midfielder immediately jumps up afterwards and then collapsing to his knees, exhausted.

Tierney is being readied.

17:50 , Alex Young

55min: The pace of this game in unrelenting, until Arsenal win a set-piece and then it’s a snail race to take it.

Bruno gets away with a warning for a push on Odegaard.

OFF THE BAR!

17:44 , Alex Young

51min: Martinelli gets the better of Trippier inside the area and curls a shot off the top of the bar.

This game.

17:43 , Alex Young

50min: What a save! Schar’s header is straight at Ramsdale, who makes himself big at point-blank range.

OFF THE POST!

17:41 , Alex Young

48min: Newcastle denied by the woodwork again!

This time Murphy holds the ball up and Isak dives in but his header thwacks against the post.

17:39 , Alex Young

46min: Back underway.

17:38 , Alex Young

No changes at the break. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of Isak or Wilson are sacrificed if things don’t change.

17:33 , Alex Young

It’s worth noting that Saka asked for some pain killers just before the break, presumably after that Bruno foul-which-wasn’t-a-foul.

One to keep an eye on.

17:27 , Alex Young

What a half that was and it looks like we’ve got more of the same after the break thanks to Granit Xhaka.

A blistering start from the hosts but an overturned penalty and an Odegaard goal later, it’s a different story.

Half-time!

17:23 , Alex Young

50min: There’s the whistle!

17:22 , Alex Young

48min: Xhaka is doing his best attempts to wind up every Newcastle player, and it’s working.

17:16 , Alex Young

45min: Five minutes added on.

17:14 , Alex Young

43min: Oof, that is naughty from Bruno. He rakes his studs down the back of Saka’s ankle.

Simon Collings at St James’ Park

17:11 , Alex Young

“Arteta endearing himself to the Newcastle faithful with his touchline antics. “Lineo, why the f*** is Arteta on the pitch?” shouts one fan. “Get it sorted!””

17:08 , Alex Young

37min: Heart-in-mouth time for Pope as his clearance almost clatters into Saka, but the Arsenal man cannot capitalise quickly enough.

The goalkeeper apologises to his team-mates.

17:04 , Alex Young

33min: Arsenal have plenty of opportunities on the break but not making the right decisions at the moment. Martinelli the latest to run into Newcastle’s final third, but instead of shooting or finding Odegaard, he goes for a no-look back heel to Jesus, which is easily cut out.

17:00 , Alex Young

30min: Newcastle starting to create chances again. Murphy looks for Wilson inside the area but Ramsdale does juuuuuuust enough to push the ball away.

It’s tense on Tyneside.

16:58 , Alex Young

28min: Deary me, can none of these forwards finish?

Willock has almost the entire goal gaping but shoots straight at Ramsdale!

16:55 , Alex Young

24min: Now Saka is clean through on goal but his second touch is a tad off and shoots straight at Pope.

Newcastle’s fast starts seems a distant memory.

16:54 , Alex Young

21min: Martinelli should at least test Pope properly after he finds himself with the ball at his feet inside the area, but the chance goes begging.

Simon Collings at St James’ Park

16:53 , Alex Young

“Odegaard so far putting in one of those performances that has YouTube content creators scrambling to put a composition together.”

16:48 , Alex Young

16min: Murphy looks to have wriggled clear and into the area, but his touch takes him wide and allows Gabriel to stick in a boot.

A good opening gone.

GOAL!

16:45 , Alex Young

14min: Odegaard fires home from outside the area, just minutes after Newcastle see a penalty overturned!

What a strike, but question marks over Trippier.

16:44 , Alex Young

12min: Newcastle are furious at that decision, but it’s literally the rules so they can have no complaints.

NO PENALTY!

16:41 , Alex Young

10min: The referee overturns as it hits Kiwior’s leg first. The correct decision.

I wonder what that will do for the momentum of the game.

PENALTY TO NEWCASTLE

16:38 , Alex Young

8min: Bruno’s shot hits Kiwor’s arm and that’s stone wall.

16:37 , Alex Young

5min: Blistering start by Newcastle. Arsenal are chasing shadows and desperately need to get their foot on the ball.

Simon Collings at St James’ Park

16:33 , Alex Young

“It’s so loud that your ears genuinely hurt.”

16:33 , Alex Young

2min: Oh, wow! Almost the perfect start for Newcastle as Murphy clangs the bottom of the far post after being found unmarked inside the area.

Arsenal’s midfield nowhere to be seen.

Kick-off!

16:31 , Alex Young

1min: Here we go!

Simon Collings at St James’ Park

16:30 , Alex Young

“Just before kick-off Jorginho has gone round and hugged every player, saying a quick word in there. A huge game for the Italian against a Newcastle midfield full of pace and power.”

16:27 , Alex Young

Here come the teams. Some atmosphere - even with the national anthem!

16:14 , Alex Young

Mikel Arteta has been speaking to Sky Sports ahead of kick-off.

”We keep digging like we have done every single day, every single game, trying to get the best out of the players and be the team that we are. Today we are going to have a very difficult challenge ahead of us but we’re looking forward to it.

“[Gabriel is] a very important player for us. It was a struggle for a few days but he managed to train yesterday and he’s fully fit.”

15:58 , Alex Young

Simon Collings has filed some pre-match thoughts.

15:53 , Alex Young

Eddie Howe and Mikel Arteta were involved in an angry touchline exchange during the reverse fixture in January, which ended 0-0, but the Newcastle boss has only respect for the Spaniard.

He said: "I've got a lot of respect for Mikel, he's done an incredible job. You have to admire everything that he's done, whether that's recruitment, coaching, everything, so there's a lot of respect from me to him.

"Within a game, you'll always have moments where you come up against opponents and there's a bit of confrontation. I think that's natural, that's part of the job, but there are certainly no issues from my side."

One change apiece

15:43 , Alex Young

So, it's one change apiece for Newcastle and Arsenal.

The hosts bring in Wilson for Gordon, as previously reported, as Howe goes for two up top. Interesting.

For Arsenal, Gabriel is passed fit after that injury against Chelsea while Martinelli comes in for Trossard.

Arsenal XI

15:31 , Alex Young

...and Arsenal.

Newcastle XI

15:30 , Alex Young

Here’s how Newcastle look.

15:16 , Alex Young

We gave you the early team news that both Wilson and Isak start for Newcastle, and now it sounds like they will be supported by Willock, Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes.

Confirmed in under 15 minutes.

Howe unconcerned by Liverpool

15:05 , Alex Young

In more 'managers-not-fussed' news, Eddie Howe says Liverpool's form is of no concern to his Newcastle side.

Liverpool have won six on the trot to go within three points of Newcastle in the race for the top four.

"Do I lose any sleep? No, I don't lose any sleep over it, but I'm aware that Liverpool are a top team. Does it surprise me they're able to go on a run of wins? No.

"There are other teams there as well, but we're not focusing on that. We haven't done that all season. We haven't focused on where we are, who's around us, form of teams. We've just focused on ourselves and that's all we can do.

"We have a tough run of fixtures, but I think at the same time, a great run of fixtures because every game is important. They're great occasions and we'll look to carry on our good form."

14:57 , Alex Young

Mikel Arteta says Arsenal's defeat at Newcastle last year will have no bearing on today's rematch.

"It's a very different game. A year ago it was different players, different game. We're going to have to play much better than we did last year, that's for sure," Arteta told reporters.

"We know it's going to be a really tough game because especially at home they've been really, really good."

He added: "They're a really good side, they are well coached, good players, the right environment around the club right now. So they're in a good place."

"They're third in the league and they've merited that... they deserve to be where they are."

14:45 , Alex Young

Simon Collings has arrived for duty. Team news to come in about 45 minutes.

Early word from the Newcastle camp suggests that both Isak and Wilson start today - that’s interesting.

Sneak peek

14:28 , Alex Young

An early peek inside the away dressing room. Any team news hints?

Score prediction

14:18 , Alex Young

Newcastle are one of the most difficult teams to play in the League, particularly at home. It would be some ask for Arsenal, who have dropped in form of late, to win there.

The Gunners have learned how to handle the pressure in the 12 months since this match last season, but Newcastle have something to play for this time. I can’t see the teams being separated.

1-1  draw.

Gabriel has travelled

14:03 , Alex Young

Arsenal have been handed a very welcome boost at the back as Gabriel has travelled with the squad after seemingly shaking off the injury picked up during the win over Chelsea.

William Saliba is not expected to play but all of Jorginho, Leandro Trossard and Jakub Kiwior could keep their places. Thomas Partey may be considered in a formation switch to deal with the strength of Newcastle in midfield.

Isak or Wilson?

13:53 , Alex Young

Newcastle have been handed a boost with Sean Longstaff and Allan Saint-Maximin back available to at least some degree. The pair missed the last few games respectively but could return.

Emil Krafth is a long-term absentee but there are not thought to be more many fresh injury worries.

Eddie Howe must decide to start either Alexander Isak or Callum Wilson

How to watch Newcastle vs Arsenal

13:44 , Alex Young

TV channel: The game will be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event,Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Ultra HDR.

Live stream: The Sky Go app will allow subscribers to watch on a live stream on either the website or app.

Welcome

13:37 , Alex Young

Good afternoon and welcome to the Evening Standard’s LIVE coverage of the Premier League clash between Newcastle and Arsenal.

Many would not have predicted these two teams would be sitting in second and third come May, but that’s the lay of the land as we head to St James’ Park.

The Gunners must win to keep their title hopes alive, while the Magpies will be looking for victory to tightened their grip on a top-four finish.

Kick-off is at 4.30pm BST. We have Simon Collings there, so stick with us.