Exclusive: Eddie Howe hails Newcastle ‘mentality’ after ‘unique’ injury crisis ahead of Arsenal clash

Eddie Howe paid tribute to his Newcastle side after dealing with a “unique” injury crisis, as he prepares for a match with an “excellent” Arsenal team.

The Magpies have had to deal with countless injuries this season, with players such as teenage attacker Lewis Miley called up to fill in.

However, Newcastle are now unbeaten in their last five matches, albeit having conceded four goals in a draw with Luton Town, and nine goals in their last four matches.

Howe’s men now sit in eight place, and while their chances of earning Champions League football next season appear more than slight, they are in with a shot at claiming a Europa League spot.

Discussing the recent record of shipping goals, Howe told TNT Sports that he was looking at the results as a priority.

He said: “I think as long as you’re getting positive results, I’ll take it. Of course, from a defensive perspective, we want to do better. We pride ourselves on putting a lot of work into that area of the game. So that’s certainly something for us to improve so I think there’s always two sides to look at it.

“We’re always working on every aspect of the game, whatever phase of defending that is.”

Newcastle travel to London for their Saturday evening match with Mikel Arteta’s side, who are currently in their second consecutive title challenge, and Howe accepts they pose a huge threat.

“Going to Arsenal we’re going to need to be very good defensively, because of the season that they’ve had. They’re very good in attacking play, “he said.

“Every game in the Premier League brings a new challenge, this is going to be a tough one.“

He said: “I think we’ve been on the end of both sides of that. Of course we’ve had a Champions League campaign, and we’ve gone into games having played midweek, and my opinion now is it doesn’t make too much difference as long as you have a squad to pick from.

“I think Porto played very well. We analysed the game, Arsenal controlled the game, had a lot of possession, played very well for the majority of the game. Just didn’t get the goal they needed or wanted.

“But I think Arsenal have played very well this season. I think if you look at them statistically, they’re where they deserve to be, right at the top end of the division. Defensively, they’ve been excellent, creatively they’ve been good as well, so it’s a really tough game for us.”

Howe concluded by paying tribute to the manner in which Newcastle persisted despite their problems, picking out the players who had stepped up in the absence of senior figures.

“We’ve still got that quality we had last year where we never know when we’re beaten, we never give up, we always go until the end,” he attested. “I think that’s the hallmark of the character of the players we’ve got. We’ve got ourselves into some tricky situations in the last few weeks but the response has always been there and that has been so important.

“If you look at results against Luton and Bournemouth, they weren’t what we wanted them to be but they were important points because we backed it up with an away win at Nottingham Forest.

“I think it’s been a unique season in many different ways. Injuries have been a part of that. I think it’s really cost us and hurt at times because we haven’t had a full team to pick from, a balanced bench, It’s been very difficult. We’ve missed some key players, some big characters. I think what we’ve tried to do is not use that as too much of an excuse or dwell on it too much with the players.

“Sometimes there’s not anything you can do about the situation you’re in and you’ve just got to make the best of the situation we’re in, and that’s what we’ve tried to do.

“I have to compliment the players who have been fit, who have played the games, because they’ve got their heads down, they’ve given their all. We haven’t been perfect, but the key characteristic, the mentality, has been very good.”

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Arsenal v Newcastle United will be live on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate with coverage from 19:00 on Saturday, February 24 ahead of kick off at 20:00.