EPL: Gunners target Magpies scalp

Newcastle vs. Arsenal
Venue: St James’ Park
Kick off: 1:30PM

Europa League semi-finalists Arsenal will be hoping to make it four Premier League wins on the spin when they travel to Newcastle United this afternoon.
However, Newcastle themselves have put together three straight wins to climb away from trouble and will be hoping to capitalise on their opponents’ poor away record.
The Magpies have lost just once since January to climb into the top half of the table, 10 points clear of the relegation zone and just two short of the magic 40 mark.
Benitez’s side have lost seven of their nine league games this season against the big six, with the only victory coming at home to Manchester United in February.
There is still time for another notable scalp, with Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur on the horizon after Arsenal’s visit to St James’ Park.
Meanwhile, the Gunners nearly slipped to an embarrassing loss at CSKA Moscow on Thursday, but late goals from Aaron Ramsey and Danny Welbeck earned them a 2-2 draw which secured a comfortable 6-3 aggregate victory.
To save their season, with a 13-point deficit still separating them and rivals Tottenham Hotspur in fourth, Arsenal must now go through favourites Atletico Madrid in the last four to reach the Europa League final.
Although domestic matters have taken a back seat to Arsenal’s pursuit of continental glory, the Londoners have actually strung together a run of three consecutive wins, after a horror run of four defeats in five games.
Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, cup tied in Europe, has provided Arsenal’s league campaign with some fresh impetus, scoring five goals in four starts.
The January signing from Borussia Dortmund is already up to six league goals, which makes him four short of Arsenal’s top scorer for the top-flight campaign – Alexandre Lacazette.
Welbeck is also in a rich vein of form with five goals in as many matches and will certainly be on Southgate’s radar, but Jack Wilshere’s latest injury might raise more doubts over his place on the plane to Russia this summer.

Newcastle possible XI: Dubravka, Yedlin, Lejeune, Lascelles, Dummett, Ritchie, Diame, Shelvey, Kenedy, Perez, Gayle.
Arsenal possible XI: Cech, Bellerin, Koscielny, Mustafi, Kolasinac, Elneny, Xhaka, Iwobi, Ozil, Welbeck, Aubameyang.