8 Key Decisions Steve McClaren Must Make Ahead Of Newcastle Vs Arsenal

5. How Do NUFC Exploit Arsenal's Central-Defensive Crisis?

Laurent Koscielny is almost certain to miss the trip to St James' Park due to a back injury, while Per Mertesacker is a major doubt after suffering from illness all week - so Arsenal may be forced to field a second-choice central-defensive pairing for the second game in succession. Gabriel, who only arrived in the Premier League in January, and Calum Chambers - who has shown mixed form at centre-back for Arsenal - are instead likely to deputise in place of the injured duo. Without the French-German alliance at the heart of their defence, the Gunners looked vulnerable at times against Liverpool and had goalkeeper Petr Cech to thank for keeping a cleansheet. Aleksandar Mitrovic, Florian Thauvin and Georginio Wijnaldum are just three of the players who Steve McClaren will expect to exploit this potential weak point in the Arsenal side, but which attacking combination will the Toon boss go for? McClaren now has plenty of options in attack, but the head coach must choose the best personnel in order to capitalise on the Gunners' mini- defensive crisis.