Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta does not believe Newcastle United have completely changed following the departure of Alexander Isak.
Isak, of course, left Newcastle United for Liverpool for a British record fee in hugely controversial circumstances.
While fans may have been glad to have seen the back of him when the deal finally went through, Eddie Howe’s side have lost one of the best strikers in the world.
There is hope Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade can plug the gap left by Isak’s exit but, clearly, it will take some getting used to.
Indeed, Newcastle are among the lowest scorers in the Premier League this season (3). Heading into this weekend’s round of fixtures, only Aston Villa had scored fewer (1).
However, Arteta doesn’t see a huge change for Newcastle.
- READ MORE: Liverpool star tells ‘not happy’ Newcastle United why selling Alexander Isak was good for them
Mikel Arteta doesn’t think Alexander Isak’s exit has completely changed Newcastle
The Gunners boss was speaking ahead of Newcastle United vs Arsenal on Sunday.
Arteta was asked whether or not Howe’s side have completely changed now that they don’t have Isak leading the line.
Interestingly, he doesn’t appear to think that much has changed.
“No, because he wasn’t playing against Barcelona and what could have been in the first 30 or 40 minutes could be very different to the result,” he said.
“I always praise the work that Eddie and the coaching staff have done there and the way they have managed to create such an atmosphere, especially at home, and a very clear identity of playing football, they make it really difficult.
“We know the test, we know that we’re going to have to be much more efficient than we’ve been lately when we played up there to win the game, and we’re going to work on that in the next two days.”
How Newcastle United currently compare to last season with Alexander Isak
Though not to doubt Isak’s quality, he didn’t start the 2024/25 season particularly well. In fact, he only scored one goal in his first six Premier League outings.
So far this season, Newcastle have scored eight goals in their first seven games of the campaign across all competitions.
Last time out, they scored seven goals in their first five Premier League games as well as one in the fourth-round in the Carabao Cup.
Clearly, there’s been a drop-off, but it’s perhaps not all that dramatic.
While Newcastle insiders know the squad is weaker without Isak, there doesn’t appear to be much cause for concern right now.
Time will tell if that remains the case going forward.
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