Robert Exley
In the close season of 1988/89, with an increase in TV revenue as well as the income from the sale of Paul Gascoigne, Newcastle significantly invested on the playing side, after raiding FA Cup winners Wimbledon for goalkeeper Dave Beasant and centre half Andy Thorn, as well as Hearts talisman John Robertson. Despite this, a Newcastle side without Paul Gascoigne sunk like a stone, finishing rock bottom of the table. The only bright spot of the season for them came at Anfield when they surprisingly took all three points against reigning champions Liverpool at the start of October, however sacked manager Willie McFaul a week later. By the following January, new boss Jim Smith had sold both Dave Beasant and John Robertson from McFaul’s final batch of signings, with Beasant joining promotion chasing Chelsea in the second tier and Robertson returning to Hearts.
On visiting St James’s Park in November that year, Arsenal walked away with all three points courtesy of a goal from Steve Bould. It would be another four years before Newcastle returned back to the top flight, again Kevin Keegan (inactive in football since retiring eight years prior) would be involved, appointed in February 1992 to replace former Spurs hero Osvaldo Ardiles and saving the Magpies from a drop to the third tier of English Football. With funds provided by Sir John Hall, Keegan built a side which secured promotion back to the top flight at the end of the 1992/93 season.
Arsenal’s first fixture back at St. James’s Park after a five and a half year gap came at the very end of the 1993/94 season just days after Arsenal secured the European Cup Winners Cup. Here, Newcastle United players and the Toon Army give Arsenal the Guard of Honour, though the Magpies would inflict a 0-2 defeat on the Gunners to take third place in the Premiership above Arsenal with goals from Highbury reject Andy Cole and Peter Beardsley, who returned back to St. James’s Park after a spell with both Merseyside clubs. Ten months on, another Peter Beardsley goal would inflict a 0-1 defeat on Arsenal at St. James’s Park.
By the time of Newcastle’s third season in the Premiership, Keegan had built a side ready to challenge for the title. On 2nd January 1996, the Magpies made it three defeats of Arsenal in a row at St. James’s Park with goals from David Ginola and Les Ferdinand, which brought a twelve point lead ahead of Manchester United at the top of the Premiership. However come the following May the Magpies had capitulated, leading to a Manchester United double and Keegan’s famous post-match meltdown on Sky Sports after a hard fought win over Leeds United during their title run in. The following season, an Arsenal side reduced to ten men after Tony Adams’s dismissal finally scored their first win at St. James’s Park during the Premiership era with goals from Lee Dixon and Ian Wright.
The screening of the 1996/97 Newcastle away fixture on the big screens at Highbury was the subject of John Perlman’s ’When Saturday Comes’ article. This screening was obviously a forerunner to the modern day regular away match screenings in the club level and Perlman rather prophetically states: ‘As it is, football tickets – certainly in the Premiership – are unaffordable for many people who used to watch every game they could. Who knows what it will be like in 10 years’ time? Suites and suits and seats for people able to afford ever-soaring ticket prices, big screens for the rest, the package jazzed up with an ersatz match atmosphere to make it more appealing? Lots more money for everyone – but not too much more of mine’. With several pubs in the North London area on a weekly basis, picking up the game just up the road on foreign satellite channels and viewed by a fan base that no longer can afford the steep modern admission prices, the reality is not far off what Perlman predicted.
Five weeks after Arsenal’s victory at St. James’s Park, Kevin Keegan would shock the football world by walking out on the Geordie faithful. Keegan’s replacement was to be Kenny Dalglish, who ironically replaced him on the pitch at Liverpool twenty years earlier. Arsenal would secure a second win at St. James’s in a row at the end of that calendar year, an Ian Wright goal securing all three points. After losing two finals to Newcastle while challenging for a League and Cup double, Arsenal secured this feat for the second time in their history with a 2-0 win over their traditional Wembley bogie side the following May. While unsuccessfully challenging to become the first side to win back to back doubles, Arsenal would drop two points at St. James’s Park in a 1-1 draw with the Magpies, now managed by Ruud Gullit.
Arsenal would suffer their first defeat at St. James’s Park for four years with a 2-4 defeat from a Newcastle side revitalised by Bobby Robson's appointment as manager. Arsenal had already secured the runners up spot and rested several first teamers, three days prior to their ill-fated UEFA Cup Final appearance against Galatasary, which the Turkish side had won on penalties. Among the Arsenal scorers at St. James’s Park that day were Nwankwo Kanu and Stefan Malz. Exactly twelve months on, Arsenal and Newcastle would play out a 0-0 draw with second place already secured and the Arsenal side suffering from the hangover of the FA Cup Final defeat to Liverpool just three days prior.
The 2001/02 season would be a more fruitful endeavour for the Arsenal, who would inflict a 2-0 defeat on Newcastle. Among the goals was as a sublime opener from Dennis Bergkamp, followed by a Sol Campbell header just ahead of half time. A week later Arsenal would meet Newcastle again at St. James’s Park in the FA Cup Quarter Final, a tie which ended in a draw with Arsenal progressing with a win at Highbury in the replay two weeks later. Two draws between Newcastle and Arsenal would following during the next couple of seasons at St. James’s Park, with a 1-1 draw in February 2003 and a 0-0 draw on Easter Sunday of 2004 as Arsenal closed in on the title, which they would secure two weeks later at White Hart Lane.
Arsenal would be back to winning ways at St. James’s Park the following December, in what was their final fixture of that sublime calendar year for the Gunners, with a 1-0 win secured by a Patrick Vieira goal ahead of half time. The 2005/06 season however would see a much less consistent Arsenal side, who succumbed to a late Nobby Solano goal at St James’s Park in early December. In the latter half of the noughties it’s fair to say that Arsenal suffered a relative decline in fortunes, however a harder time was experienced on Tyneside with even Kevin Keegan’s third coming not enough to halt their slump.
Keegan returned for a nine month spell in 2008, though walked out on St. James’s Park for a second time full of condemnation for Newcastle owner Mike Ashley for not providing him with the funds to break into the coveted top four. Newcastle were relegated to the second tier on the last day of the 2008/09 season, on their way down suffering a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Arsenal at St. James’s Park in March with goals from Bendtner, Diaby and Samir Nasri. Newcastle however would return to the Premiership after just one year as Champions of the second tier.
Arsenal’s return to St. James’s Park would come in the fourth round of the League Cup at the end of October 2010, bringing a 4-0 victory with two goals from Theo Walcott, Nic Bendtner and a Tim Krul own goal. A little over three months later it would seem that Arsenal were heading for a repeat score line after racing into a four goal lead at half time with goals from Theo Walcott, Johann Djourou and two for Robin Van Persie. The second half capitulation to a Joey Barton-inspired Newcastle side however would pass into Premiership folklore, as Arsenal’s 2010/11 title challenge would de-rail spectacularly, with Newcastle drawing level and unlucky not to take all three points come full time.
For the opening fixture of the 2011/12 season Arsenal would again return to St. James’s Park, however they would play out an uninspiring goalless draw, the only thing of note being Gervinho’s red card on his debut after an altercation with Joey Barton. Just two weeks on from this, Arsenal would suffer the infamous 2-8 hammering at Old Trafford. Arsenal’s next visit to St. James’s Park however would secure Champions League football on the final day of the 2012/13 season with a 1-0 win with a Laurent Koscielny. Famously, an Alan Sugar tweet would wrongly inform Spurs fans that Newcastle had equalised up at St. James’s Park leading to delirium in the stands at White Hart Lane. The following season, the final game of the calendar year in 2013 saw Arsenal triumph again by the same score line with a second half goal from Olivier Giroud.
It’s been a while since a Newcastle-Arsenal game at St. James’s Park was a top of the table clash, however last season’s Under 21 meeting between the two sides was just that. Arsenal ran out 2-1 winners, with Alex Iwobi and a late header from Austin Lipman. However neither side would take the Under 21’s title, with Arsenal finishing thirteen points behind eventual champions Middlesbrough and Newcastle even further behind in 6th place. A month later, with the first team, Arsenal were to succeed at St. James’s Park by the same score line with two goals from Olivier Giroud taking his total against Newcastle to eight goals in just six games.
This Saturday will be the first Newcastle United v Arsenal fixture of the Steve McClaren era. History however doesn't seem to be on McClaren's side. Aside from Middlesbrough's League Cup Semi Final victory over a second string Arsenal side in 2003/04 in both legs, McClaren has only enjoyed one other victory - a 1-2 defeat for the Gunners at the Riverside in September 2005. There had also been some big victories for Arsenal in that time, beating Boro 4-0 away in McClaren's first game in charge in August 2001, as well as a 7-0 victory for Arsenal at Highbury toward the end of McClaren's reign in 2006. Newcastle have also failed to beat Arsenal at St. James's Park since 2005.
Steve McClaren is of course, also famed for carrying out an interview ahead of a Champions League qualifier against Arsenal back in 2008 in English but with a Dutch accent. The defence of McClaren had been that though he's speaking to a foreign journalist who speaks English, English regional accents are difficult for foreign ears to understand. However, one wonders whether McClaren will adopt a Geordie accent next time he's before Newcastle's local press?
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