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Alan Shearer has called on Newcastle United to retain the lineup that secured a narrow but decisive 1-0 victory over Arsenal at St James’ Park on Saturday. In a bold move, Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe opted to leave Sandro Tonali on the bench, instead fielding a midfield trio of Joe Willock, Bruno Guimaraes, and Sean Longstaff, with Joelinton on the left wing, Anthony Gordon on the right, and Alexander Isak up front.
Shearer, speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, praised the winning goal, which came from Gordon’s cross on the right wing, perfectly headed in by Isak. “What about the goal, lads? The cross and the header? It was a thing of beauty, wasn’t it? Oh my god,” he said.
The victory was Newcastle’s first in six Premier League matches, providing a much-needed boost ahead of their next match against Nottingham Forest on Sunday. Shearer believes the tactical setup and cohesion shown against Arsenal should be kept for the trip to the City Ground.
“That was key to how Newcastle played—the balance of the midfield and the balance of the front three,” Shearer explained. “Joelinton put a shift in on the left, and I thought it was much better.”
He credited Howe’s search for the right formula, which began showing signs in their recent Carabao Cup win over Chelsea. “Eddie has been searching for that right balance and struggled to find it, but I thought because of what happened on Wednesday night in the Carabao Cup, with Newcastle beating Chelsea, there were signs then that the energy was back.”
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