(Football news) Two unlikely challengers for the Premier League title aim to boost their title credentials as Arsenal take on Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners ended 2022 with a brilliant 4-2 win over Brighton & Hove Albion, while Eddie Howe’s side lost a bit of ground after being held to a goalless draw by Leeds United. No team in Premier League history has lost the title after collecting 43 points from 16 games, and the Arsenal fans are just starting to believe that little bit more by the week, as Mikel Arteta’s young gunners continue to defy pre-season expectations.

Eddie Nketiah, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard all scored at Amex against Brighton. Arteta admitted that his side did very well against an in-form Brighton side but a 14th top-flight win of the season as well as Manchester City dropping points against Everton, allowed the Gunners to enjoy their midnight celebrations being seven points clear at the top of the table. Arsenal are the only Premier League side with a 100% home record still intact. While a 10-game winning run on home soil is a great achievement but only Nottingham Forest have failed to score against Arsenal at the Emirates during this hot streak, so a record-equalling 29th clean sheet against Newcastle is far from a guarantee.

For Newcastle, a victory over Leeds would have allowed them to move level on points with Man City, but the Magpies remained in third position as they entered 2023 only two behind the reigning champions and nine points adrift of Arsenal, both of whom have a game in hand. While there was a sense of missed opportunity on Saturday, Howe’s side have still suffered one defeat in the league this season and even then Liverpool only scraped a 2-1 Anfield win right at the death and they are unbeaten in their last 12 games in the Premier League since August. Arteta’s players received the hairdryer treatment after they were outclassed in a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle at St James’ Park, but on the other hand Arsenal have won each of their last 11 home games against the Magpies in all tournaments.

Also read: Lens stay in the Ligue 1 title race after beating PSG