For a side that has lost five Premier League games in a row, a trip to the Emirates Stadium to play Arsenal is the last place Newcastle would want to visit in the midst of such a deflating run. 2014 has been far from kind to the Magpies, 13 of the 18 matches played since we put five past Stoke at St James' Park on Boxing Day have ended in defeat, and the squad make their way to North London with the clubs worst losing sequence in the top-flight since the 1986-87 campaign hanging over their heads. A sixth straight loss would seriously jeopardise our position in the top-half of the table, especially with Stoke and Crystal Palace now breathing down our necks and standing just one victory away from plunging us to 11th. An unthinkable scenario on the first day in January when we were clinging on to the coattails of the top-four. Facing a revitalised Arsenal doesn't promise much relief after they regained the upper hand on Everton in the race for the much-coveted final Champions League berth. The Gunners have never finished outside of the top-four during Arsene Wenger's tenure, becoming experts at rallying late in the season to meet their minimum objective and have won their last two matches against West Ham and Hull after four without success. Worse yet we haven't lost at home in the Premier League since Aston Villa snatched maximum points on the opening day of the season. Even with Alan Pardew back on the touchline following his seven-match ban, this one looks like a write-off. Here's six big talking points ahead of the game tonight...
