Newcastle United recorded their biggest win of the season yet on Saturday.
Indeed, Newcastle overcame title-challenging Arsenal 1-0 thanks to Alexander Isak’s first-half goal, making for a brilliant few days at St James’ Park.
Only days after beating Chelsea in the Carabao Cup, Eddie Howe’s side were good value for their victory against one of the best teams in the Premier League.
A statement result and despite having to do some defending, surely few would doubt Newcastle deserved all three points. Arsenal may well have had a lot of the ball in the closing stages but rarely really tested Nick Pope’s goal.
Naturally, a number of players have been praised for their performances. Alan Shearer was delighted with both Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento, with Howe also praising the former too.
Stuart Pearce, meanwhile, named the “tireless” Sean Longstaff as the Toon’s best player.
Speaking after the game, Longstaff made a rather telling admission.
Sean Longstaff admits he knows some Newcastle fans don’t want him to play
Sometimes a relatively divisive figure amongst the supporters, Longstaff admitted he was aware that some fans do not think he should start ahead of the likes of Sandro Tonali, Joelinton, Bruno Guimaraes and Joe Willock in midfield.
He said (via Andy Sixsmith on X): “Some people think I should play – some people think I should be nowhere near it and can’t play a 2-yard pass! Whenever I play, you know what you’re going to get.
“For what the manager has done for me, I’ll always be a good teammate – I’ll always be good around his dressing room whether I’m playing or not. I try and enjoy every moment. Every time I get to play at St James’, I’ll never take it for granted.”
What Newcastle know about Sean Longstaff’s qualities
While not to suggest Longstaff doesn’t deserve criticism when its warranted, some of the backlash against him at times has arguably been a bit too much.
Newcastle, after all, are unbeaten in the last seven games in which he’s started. Those statistics do not lie.
That’s not to say he’s absolutely perfect and even Howe is said to be aware that his impact when coming off the bench perhaps isn’t the greatest.
Still, the academy graduate is such a grafter and someone capable of making a real difference in the biggest games, as proved by his performance here as well as goals against Southampton and Paris Saint-Germain in the Carabao Cup and Champions League respectively.
Time to put some respect on his name.
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