Mikel Arteta has urged Arsenal to "put everything" into the Premier League title race as they look to reclaim top spot from Manchester City with a win over Newcastle United.
Arsenal have lost their last two league games, including a 2-1 defeat to City last weekend. Since then, Pep Guardiola's side beat Burnley to leapfrog the Gunners to the summit on goals scored.
Arsenal can move back to the top of the table if they avoid defeat to Newcastle, though they realistically need a win to pile the pressure back on City, who will boast two games in hand by the time they next play a Premier League match.
Given the tight nature of the table, the finest margins could decide where the title lands this season, and Arteta is determined to see Arsenal at their best level.
"We don't know. We are just talking about a lot of possibilities," he said. "Then, depending on how the situation is, then you can start to think about something else.
"You have to put everything into it. Everything you have, you have to put it on the table, and you have to make it happen.
"The clarity in what we have to do it cannot be better. Win tomorrow, and then we'll be much closer.
"I have belief in our players and our people and the willingness in what we want to achieve."
Arsenal are still favourites to win the league with the Opta supercomputer, with a 65.4% chance compared to City's 34.6%.
Newcastle, meanwhile, have lost eight of their last 11 Premier League matches (W3), with no side losing more than the Magpies since the start of that run on January 25.
This run has seen Newcastle, who will be without Anthony Gordon for the trip to the Emirates, drop down to 14th in the table, but they are still in with an outside chance of booking a place in Europe, with only seven points separating them from seventh-place Bournemouth, who have played a game more.
The pressure is on Eddie Howe to get a win, though, after three straight league losses, and he acknowledged there could be a lot of change this summer.
"It's about attitude, commitment to the team," he said. "I think the players would expect that; I think they understand the demands and the role they're in.
"There's a responsibility in every moment to try to be at your best. That responsibility falls on me as well to make sure I'm delivering the best I can for the players and staff to create an environment we can win in."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Arsenal – Bukayo Saka
Arsenal have a 73% win ratio (16 wins in 22 games) and average 2.4 points per game with Bukayo Saka in the starting XI this season in the Premier League. Without him, their win percentage drops to 45% (five wins in 11), and their points per game is 1.6.
He has scored six goals in the Premier League this term, the joint-second highest total in the squad, and he could be key to getting them back to winning ways after Arteta confirmed he could return on Saturday.
Newcastle United – William Osula
William Osula has scored in five Premier League matches for Newcastle but has ended on the losing side in three of them (60%).
He is the only player to score in as many as five games in the competition for the Magpies, but end up on the losing side in more than half of them.
A trip to the Emirates comes next pic.twitter.com/ARhTtRk8Of
— Newcastle United (@NUFC) April 23, 2026
MATCH PREDICTION: ARSENAL WIN
Following their 2-1 win at St. James' Park in September, Arsenal are looking to complete the league double over Newcastle for the first time since 2020-21.
That looks like a fairly likely outcome, given Newcastle are winless in their last 13 Premier League away games against Arsenal (D1 L12), and have scored just one goal in their last nine visits to the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal have scored 99 Premier League goals against Newcastle. They have already netted 100 against Everton, West Ham, Tottenham and Aston Villa.
However, Arteta's side have lost their last two Premier League matches, losing 2-1 against both Bournemouth and Man City. They have not lost three league games in a row since April 2022, which was also the last time they went 1-0 down in three games consecutively.
Under Arteta, Arsenal's lowest points per game ratio in a Premier League month (at least five games played) is in April, winning 40 points in 27 games (1.48). 18% of all their league defeats under the Spaniard have come in April (nine out of 51).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Arsenal – 68.4%
Draw – 17.5%
Newcastle United – 14.1%