Gary Neville issues reassuring message to Newcastle United fans after ‘horrible’ Arsenal defeat

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Gary Neville insists there is no reason for Newcastle United to panic despite their challenging start to the season.

The Magpies have only picked up two wins in all competitions so far. They were against bottom of the table Wolverhampton Wanderers and League One outfit Bradford City.

Newcastle lost to Arsenal on Sunday, throwing away a 1-0 lead and conceding a 96th minute winner courtesy of Gabriel. It was heartbreaking for Eddie Howe, who had witnessed his side lose in similarly crushing fashion to Liverpool.

It was always going to be a difficult start to the season given the fixtures, but Newcastle United’s lack of wins is concerning.

However, Gary Neville has reassured Toon fans that they do not need to worry.

Gary Neville is not worried about Newcastle United after losing to Arsenal

Following Newcastle’s loss to Arsenal at St James’ Park, Neville admitted on the Gary Neville Podcast on YouTube that Howe’s side did not play anywhere near their best against the Gunners.

However, he is confident that they will surge up the Premier League table in the near future.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
13	BrentfordBrentford	6	2	1	3	9	11	-2	7
14	Manchester UnitedManchester United	6	2	1	3	7	11	-4	7
15	NewcastleNewcastle	6	1	3	2	4	5	-1	6
16	Aston VillaAston Villa	6	1	3	2	4	6	-2	6

“It is a horrible one for Newcastle,” he said.

“I didn’t think they played at their best. They fought. They’re solid defensively. They were hanging in there, a bit like Man City last week at one point when Eddie Howe went to a back five and you couldn’t argue with it because there was wave after wave of attack.

“They’ll be disappointed. They’ll be gutted with how the season has started. But I think the ingredients are right here. There’s no need to panic. Those Newcastle fans at the end, there’s still a lot of them who were appreciative of the performance. They played against a good side.

“I don’t think there’s need for changes here or anything like that. They just need to get into their flow. I think they’ll rise up the league. They’ll win a lot of points. They’ll win a lot of matches.

“Today they just played against probably, at this moment in time, the best team in the league. They’re very difficult to play against, Arsenal.”

Newcastle United’s fortunes must change as intense run of fixtures continues

So far this season, Newcastle United have played against the two leading Premier League title contenders and the side that is considered one of the favourites to win the entire Champions League. That context is necessary when reflecting on the Magpies’ tough start to the campaign.

The difficulty of the fixtures is going to change for Newcastle, but the intensity is not going away. With Eddie Howe’s side still in three competitions, they are going to be playing twice a week until the middle of December.

Newcastle need to build up some momentum, starting against Union Saint-Gilloise in the Champions League on Wednesday night. Lewis Hall could return for that game, which is a boost as Toon fans await an update on Tino Livramento’s injury.

Next up in the Premier League is a tricky home tie against Nottingham Forest. The Magpies will be favourites for that game, but victory certainly is not guaranteed.

Then comes the international break, which is followed by Brighton away and Benfica at home in the Champions League. That is two more challenging games for Newcastle United, who must start to prove Gary Neville right that plenty of wins are on the way.