David Moyes names Newcastle duo who are building ‘excellent’ partnership under Eddie Howe

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David Moyes believes two Newcastle United players stood out during Saturday’s win over Arsenal.

Newcastle sprung a surprise this weekend, beating Arsenal 1-0 at St James’ Park to put a sizeable dent in their Premier League title hopes.

It was a vital win for Eddie Howe‘s side, who have climbed to 10th in the Premier League table and are just three points off the top four positions.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
10	NewcastleNewcastle	10	4	3	3	10	10	0	15

Alexander Isak continued his goal streak against Arsenal, and there were a handful of standout performances, including another superb display from Lewis Hall.

But former Premier League boss David Moyes picked out two Newcastle midfielders for praise.

David Moyes hails ‘excellent’ Joelinton and Joe Willock

Howe rolled the dice against Chelsea midweek, pushing Joelinton to the left wing to make space for Joe Willock in midfield.

It worked so well that he repeated the trick against Arsenal, and both players were “excellent” according to Moyes.

Speaking on BBC’s Football Daily, Moyes said: “I agree. We played them last season and the Joe Willock and Joelinton combination down the side was so good. 

“I saw yesterday that their form on the left-hand side was excellent as well. I think the way Newcastle have played in the last year or two has been so, so good.

“Bruno Guimaraes is a top player in midfield as well, and I think they’ve been very good.”

Eddie Howe has found his best Newcastle XI

Newcastle started the season slowly but have grown into the campaign and their best performance so far came against Arsenal.

Howe has been chopping and changing the side trying to get the balance right. There were plenty of headaches, including the left-wing conundrum involving Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes.

He tried to make a star-studded midfield of Guimaraes, Joelinton and Sandro Tonali work, but it simply didn’t click.

READ MORE: Alan Shearer says what he loved about Newcastle’s performance vs Arsenal after Mikel Areta dig

However, against Chelsea and Arsenal it feels as though Howe has now found his best XI, and ironically it involves neither Gordon nor Barnes out on the left.

Sean Longstaff has proved he must start in midfield, while Willock and Joelinton have combined brilliantly on the left with Hall. It is all starting to come together.