It certainly proved another disappointing weekend for Newcastle United.
Eddie Howe’s side were thrashed away at Arsenal in the Premier League and now sit ninth in the table.
Indeed, Newcastle’s increasingly porous defence continues to worry Howe, as does their complete lack of consistency.
There is no great shame in losing at the Emirates Stadium of course, with both Liverpool and Manchester City having done so this season. Still, the manner of the performance was most frustrating, with Howe’s side dominated from pretty much the first minute.
Still, club legend Alan Shearer spoke of at least one positive.
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Speaking on The Rest Is Football Podcast, Shearer highlighted the return of Joe Willock from injury. Howe was delighted the £25m star was back in action at last, as were some of his teammates.
It was Willock who scored the goal to give the travelling supporters at least something to cheer on an otherwise dreadful evening.
“The one positive to come out of Newcastle was Joe Willock,” said Shearer.
“He came on and got 15 or 20 minutes and that was the one positive of the afternoon.”
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The defeat to Arsenal will take some getting over, particularly if Newcastle do not roar back into form away at Blackburn in the FA Cup on Tuesday night.
Still, Willock’s return is a huge boost. A key player under Howe last season, he offers the Magpies boss the chance to rotate in midfield, with all of Bruno Guimaraes, Lewis Miley and Sean Longstaff playing week in, week out right now.
Alexander Isak was also able to play, while Nick Pope is reportedly close to a return himself. At last, it seems Newcastle have options. Being able to turn to players off the bench has been a rare luxury for Howe this season.
Now, it’s about turning that into on-field success during what remains of this campaign. An FA Cup run would be most welcome right now.
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