(Flashback editions for Newcastle away can be viewed here and here, with yesterday’s edition found here).

During the four seasons Newcastle spent in the second tier during the late eighties and early nineties, there would be quite a few noteworthy games for the Magpies. In 1989/90 Newcastle started the season with a 5-2 win over that season’s eventual second tier Champions, Leeds United, as well as a 5-4 win over Leicester on former Celtic and Scotland captain Roy Aitken’s Newcastle debut later that season. There would also be a thrilling 2-3 defeat to a Man Utd side on their way to their first trophy under Alex Ferguson. In 1990/91, Magpies full back Steve Watson performed this bizarre somersault flip of a throw in against local rivals Middlesbrough. Also, Newcastle’s visit to Tranmere in the much maligned Zenith Data Systems Cup in October 1991 resulted in an incredible 6-6 draw, with Tranmere winning the tie on penalties.

By New Years’ Day of 1992 however, Newcastle were languishing at the bottom of the second tier and in a weird snapshot of life on the eve of the dawn of the Premiership, Southend United headed to the top of the old Second Division with a place in the inaugural Premiership the following season looking a possibility after hammering the Magpies 4-0 at Roots Hall. A week later, Newcastle lost a three goal lead to suffer a 3-4 defeat at home to Charlton. The Geordies were in danger of slipping into the third tier of English football when Kevin Keegan, who at this point showed no inclination to return to football in any capacity after retiring eight years earlier – even once quoted as saying: ‘If anyone ever hears that I'm coming back to football full-time, they can laugh as much as I will. It'll never happen. That's for certain’ - returned to Tyneside as boss in early February 1992.

By the final day of the season, the Magpies needed to defeat Leicester on the final day of the season away at Filbert Street, who themselves needed to avoid defeat to achieve automatic promotion after five years outside the top flight. Newcastle took the lead through a Gavin Peacock goal, though a late Steve Walsh equaliser had led many to believe that the Magpies were doomed. A pitch invasion led to a delay in restarting, however a huge punt up field from Tommy Wright in the Newcastle goal led to a mix up between Steve Walsh and Carl Muggleton in the Leicester goal, with the former putting the ball into his own net.

A further pitch invasion by a Leicester support probably not fully aware of what was going on, led to Kevin Keegan calling for the Newcastle players to exit the field of play. According to press reports, seats were ripped out and hurled, coins were thrown and police in full riot gear burst onto the pitch, though Newcastle had escaped relegation with a 2-1 win. Keegan has become famous in the years since for dramatic walk outs at Newcastle and other roles, such as the England manager’s job in 2000, however the first of these came in 1992 when Keegan threatened to walk over transfer funds.

For 1992/93, Keegan was granted unprecedented funds which his predecessors could only dream of and in the process bagging Paul Bracewell from Sunderland, John Beresford from Portsmouth, Barry Venison from Liverpool and Robert Lee from Charlton. Newcastle raced to the top of the second tier with victories such as this 3-0 away win over Tranmere. By the time of the transfer deadline Keegan was given even further funds to secure Premiership football by signing Scott Sellars from Leeds and former Arsenal youth product Andy Cole, who since leaving Highbury had been banging them away for Bristol City. Newcastle’s final game of the season, as with the season before, had been Leicester City. This time at St. James’s Park, the Magpies thrashed Leicester 7-1 (although the Foxes couldn’t improve on a play off place finish) with hat-tricks for both David Kelly and Andy Cole, as well as one from Robert Lee.

After winning just two of their first eight games back in the top flight in 1993/94, Keegan’s Newcastle made their mark on the Premiership with a stunning 3-0 win over Liverpool at St. James’s Park with an Andy Cole hat-trick, which had been their third victory in what would be a run of four straight wins, which took Newcastle to third in the Premiership ahead of their first visit to Highbury during the Premiership era. In the event, Arsenal ran out 2-1 winners with goals from Ian Wright and Alan Smith, with Peter Beardsley (returning back to St. James’s Park after six years on Merseyside with both Liverpool and Everton) pulling one back for the Magpies.

Newcastle finished their first season back in the top flight by finishing third in the table, with Andy Cole breaking the forty goals a season barrier with a 5-1 win over Aston Villa in April. The Magpies’ next visit to Highbury came in Mid-September. Arsenal suffered one of their worst starts to a season for quite a while, winning just one game out of their first five games which stood in stark contrast to Newcastle’s 100% record of five wins out of five as they topped the Premiership early on. The Gunners’ misery continued further, as Newcastle recorded their first win at Highbury since 1987 with two goals for Peter Beardsley and one for Ruel Fox, while Tony Adams and Ian Wright were on target for Arsenal, as Newcastle inflicted a 2-3 defeat on the Gunners.

Newcastle’s victory would be the second of what would be four straight wins over the Arsenal. After spending £16 Million on signings such as Les Ferdinand, David Ginola and Warren Barton in the close season of 1995/96, by the time of their next visit to Highbury in January 1996, Newcastle were seven points clear at the top of the Premiership table, with great results such as a 6-1 win over Wimbledon (who had Vinnie Jones covering in goal, having their goalkeeper sent off). On January 2nd 1996, Arsenal suffered a 0-2 defeat at St. James’s Park, however eight days on Newcastle would visit Highbury for a League Cup Quarter Final tie with Arsenal.

The Gunners achieved a 2-0 win over ‘Champions Elect’ Newcastle United with two goals from Ian Wright, a sending off for David Ginola as a result of an off-the-ball incident with Lee Dixon and a pitch side ruck between Arsenal boss Bruce Rioch and Newcastle assistant manager Terry McDermott. In a manner not too dissimilar to Man City twenty four years earlier with Rodney Marsh, Newcastle United signed a player of undoubted quality in Tino Asprilla from Italian side Parma in February who on his debut helped the Magpies to a 1-2 win over local rivals Middlesbrough, however did upset the balance of a settled side and by the time of Newcastle’s visit to Highbury in the League in late March of 1996, their lead at the top had evaporated to being level on points with Man United at the top.

Two first half goals from Scott Marshall and Ian Wright gave Arsenal a 2-0 win at Highbury. Newcastle’s next League fixture would be an away trip to Anfield, which has been deemed by many to have been the best game of the Premiership era, with the Geordies suffering a 3-4 defeat at the hands of Liverpool, which effectively conceded that year’s title to Old Trafford. Going some way to enacting revenge on Man United however, Newcastle inflicted a 5-0 win on Alex Ferguson’s men in late October, as well as an impressive 7-1 win over Spurs during the Christmas period. Incredibly, within ten days of this thumping of Tottenham, Keegan walked out on St. James’s Park despite being just five points off the top of the table with a game in hand.

Keegan’s resignation effectively put Newcastle out of the title race, losing again 3-4 to title challenging Liverpool in March. Arsenal during Arsene Wenger’s first season at Highbury had made a go of it until the last few weeks of the season. When Newcastle visited Highbury in early May, Arsenal were four points off of the leaders Man United, though Fergie’s men had two games in hand, while Newcastle lay in fourth. A Robbie Elliott goal inflicted a 0-1 defeat on Arsenal which made the title a mathematical impossibility. Newcastle came from nowhere to sneak the first ever place in the Champions League for a non-title winning side after a 5-0 win over bottom placed Nottingham Forest took them above Arsenal on goal difference.

In the Champions League the following season, Newcastle achieved an excellent 3-2 win over Louis Van Gaal’s Barcelona, with a Tino Asprilla hat-trick, though the Geordies were eliminated in the group phase. Asprilla would also fall out with Kenny Dalglish and be sold back to Parma in January 1998, as well as Les Ferdinand and David Ginola moving on to Tottenham meaning that the Magpies were in team very much in relative decline by the time of their next visit to Highbury in April 1998, while Arsenal in contrast were in the hunt for the League and FA Cup double. Arsenal ran out 3-1 winners with two goals from Nicolas Anelka and a sublime thirty yard shot from Patrick Vieira.

Newcastle returned to Highbury the following October, with Arsenal emphatically taking all three points with 3-0 win with goals from Nicolas Anelka and two for Dennis Bergkamp. After a 0-0 draw in 1999/2000, Newcastle’s visit to Highbury in December 2000 saw Arsenal thrash the Geordies 5-0 with goals from Thierry Henry, Nwankwo Kanu and a rare Ray Parlour hat-trick. By the time Newcastle came to Highbury in the Premiership in December 2001, they had failed to win a game in London since defeating West Ham in September 1997, with over thirty fixtures in the capital in between including a 1-1 draw with Leyton Orient in the Second leg of a League Cup first round tie in September 2000.

Newcastle however were enjoying a resurgence under Bobby Robson and inflicted a 1-3 defeat on Arsenal to go top of the table. The match included a sending off for Ray Parlour and a controversial penalty decision in Newcastle’s favour (of which referee Graham Poll would later state: ‘Campbell just looked at me astonished and shook his head. That had more effect on me than him screaming in my face. I knew I'd got the decision wrong’) which led to an angry confrontation at the final whistle between Thierry Henry and the referee Graham Poll. According to Poll, Henry had been shouting: ‘you cost us in the Cup final and now tonight it's enough!’ mistaking Poll for Steve Dunn who failed to give two penalty decisions in Arsenal’s favour the previous May.

On the way to the 2002 FA Cup Final, Arsenal would meet Newcastle United in a Quarter Final replay at Highbury, taking the lead through a Robert Pires strike within two minutes. The French winger laid on an assist for Dennis Bergkamp before being carried off with Knee ligament damage putting him out of the rest of the season and the 2002 World Cup Finals in Japan and South Korea. Sol Campbell rounded off the scoring with a 3-0 win to the Arsenal. Pires had returned to action by the time of Newcastle’s next visit to Highbury in November 2002. Arsenal had only won one of their last six games in all competitions and held on for a 1-0 win with a goal from Sylvan Wiltord.

In 2003/04 Newcastle would visit Highbury in late September, with Arsenal taking all three points with a 3-2 win secured by goals from Gilberto Silva and two for Thierry Henry, however it would not be the match itself which would capture the headlines in the days that followed. After the match, it would be alleged that several Premiership footballers were involved in the gang rape of a seventeen year old student. Newcastle’s Kieron Dyer would mistakenly be named in relation to the matter, though his team mate Titus Bramble and Carlton Cole – then of Chelsea – were arrested, however charges were dropped against both the following January (ironically, the PR advisor to the accuser was Max Clifford who has since been charged with numerous historic sexual offences). Titus Bramble in the years since has been the subject of other allegations, arrested in 2010 on suspicion of raping a nineteen year old (of which his brother Tes actually was convicted) and again a year later on suspicion of sexual assault and possession of a Class A drug, although again Bramble was cleared on both accounts.

Back to the football just briefly, and Newcastle’s return to Highbury in January 2005 saw Arsenal run out 1-0 winners with a goal from Dennis Bergkamp. That season however, there would be further controversy surrounding Kieron Dyer the following April (although to be fair to him, totally innocent here too in my view) when he would be sent off for becoming embroiled in a fight with his own team mate - crackpot loon Lee Bowyer -off the ball, which was totally disgraceful (although from a neutral perspective, equally as funny!). The following August, Arsenal opened their final season at Highbury against Newcastle which resulted in a 2-0 win with a Thierry Henry penalty and a second for Robin Van Persie.

Newcastle’s first visit to our new ground came in Mid-November of 2006. Newcastle took the lead through a goal from Kieron Dyer, however Thierry Henry equalised with a well taken free-kick with the score finishing in a 1-1 draw. In 2007/08 Newcastle would visit Arsenal in both domestic Cup competitions, the first being the League Cup in September. Arsenal left it late with two goals in the last ten minutes from Nic Bendtner and Denilson to give the Gunners a 2-0 win. In the FA Cup fourth round Arsenal ran out 3-0 winners with two goals from Emmanuel Adebayor and an own goal from former Man United midfielder Nicky Butt.

Three days later, the two sides would meet in the Premiership with Arsenal winning again by the same score line. Goals from Emmanuel Adebayor, a superb thirty yard strike from Mathieu Flamini and a strike from Cesc Fabregas gave Arsenal a 3-0 win. Despite the return of Kevin Keegan to St. James’s Park for the third time, Arsenal would beat Newcastle again by the same score line for the third time in a row the following August. Goals from Denilson and two from Robin Van Persie gave Arsenal a 3-0 win early on in the 2008/09 season. This would also be Joey Barton’s first game after spending part of the summer in prison. Barton introduced himself to the match with a vicious tackle on Samir Nasri followed by a smirk, though Nasri would have the last laugh by tripping Barton off the ball away from the view of the referee.