Newcastle United appear to be keeping their cards close to their chest ahead of facing Arsenal on Saturday night.
The Magpies are heading to the capital for what should be a fierce game at the Emirates Stadium, especially after what happened in the reverse fixture. It was a real battle at St James’ Park, and one that Newcastle United won.
Now Arsenal will be looking revenge, while they take on a Toon team that will want to bounce back after a disappointing result against Bournemouth.
Eddie Howe is hoping to have some key players back from injury, while he has been boosted by the fact that Fabian Schar appears to be alright. He exited the pitch in a sling last weekend, but has trained ahead of Arsenal.
It has also been reported that Alexander Isak and Joe Willock are back in training ahead of the trip down south, but an official update from the does not confirm this.
Isak or Willock do not feature in Newcastle training pics ahead of Arsenal
The club have uploaded 26 training photos from Wednesday’s session to their official website.
The likes of Fabian Schar and Bruno Guimaraes feature, but there is no sign of Alexander Isak or Joe Willock. That is despite rumours claiming they have returned to training.
Now, that is not to say the rumours are not true. It is more likely a case that they either weren’t involved in that session as they are eased back in, or that Newcastle United are concealing their return to fitness.
Despite them not being seen in the club’s update, it would not be a major surprise to see either or both of them involved against Arsenal.
It will be excellent to have them both back, particularly Isak. The ‘frightening‘ 24-year-old is our leading scorer this season, and is now under even more pressure to deliver due to Callum Wilson’s season-ending injury.
As for Willock, he will give Howe an additional option in midfield, which is an area of the pitch that we have struggled in as of late.
Hopefully we get a bit more clarity on the situation when Howe speaks to the media on Friday.
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