What Sandro Tonali was told after losing place and Newcastle decision that's 'not working'

Sandro Tonali was told he'd lost his place in Newcastle United's Premier League starting XI simply to bring fresh legs into the team against Arsenal.

With head coach Eddie Howe wary of Newcastle's demanding schedule last week, with three games in just six days, Tonali was named as a substitute and Joe Willock and Sean Longstaff were handed starts alongside Bruno Guimaraes. Howe's cautious management of Tonali has been under the microscope in recent weeks with the head coach experiencing pockets of boos for bringing him off against Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

But after starting Tonali against the Blues in midweek and bringing him off amid the 2-0 win over Chelsea, there was warm and applause and appreciation from a full house. And Howe's decision to start Willock and North Shields lad Longstaff on Saturday was also one of the cornerstones of success in the 1-0 win over Arsenal.

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Before the game against the Gunners, social media fumed about the decision on Tonali with one X user saying: "Undeserved drop for Tonali" and another posting: "No chance does Longstaff deserve a start over Tonali."

Howe said on Saturday: "You are trying to manage everyone's game load really. All those midfielders would have ended up playing in two of the three games we've had so Sandro missed out from the start but was important from the bench."

Tonali's situation at Newcastle is also being carefully monitored by the Italian media with La Gazzetta dello Sport in the stands alongside the local Press on Saturday against the Gunners. Their verdict on Howe's "best midfield" which consists of Tonali, Bruno and Joelinton was deemed as "not working for now".

And it has to be said that the midfield trio of Longstaff, Bruno and Willock worked perfectly well on Saturday. If the English domestic calendar is about horses for courses, Howe got his selection calls right last week.

But after the game, Howe shed more light on Tonali's absence and insisted he must reward others with opportunities for patience and good showings in training. Howe said: "For me, the team overrides any individual, the team has to take priority, so you can think whatever you think about individual players, but the midfield or any area of the team that you're talking about has to function well together.

"I thought it did again today. I was really pleased. Joe Willock had something different, Sean had something different, Bruno had something different, Sandro does.

"They're all unique players, and then you're missing out Joelinton, who's played wide and done an an incredible amount of effort and work for the team in a different areas of the pitch, so it's good to have those decisions. I'm sure there'll be a lot more debate as we move forward in the future."

And in acknowledging the fact that there will be discourse on Tonali's place in the team, Howe underlined the only guarantee in one of the fiercest positional battles in years at St James' Park.