AFTER weekend wins for Manchester United and Chelsea, the heat is on for Arsenal as they try to stay on track for a Champions League place.
No matter how undeserved the respective victories were for their rivals against Watford and Cardiff, it's all about collecting points at the business end of the season.
And the Gunners can't contemplate dropping any at home to a Newcastle side who have moved clear of relegation trouble in recent weeks.
With North London rivals Spurs slipping to another defeat at the weekend against Liverpool, bringing up two of my bets, it's now a fascinating four-club fight for the two remaining Champions League places.
A win over the Magpies would take Arsenal above United and Spurs into third and that should be motivation enough to see them get the victory.
But they won't have it easy against a Newcastle side who have only lost once in their last five matches and dished out Manchester City's last defeat back in January.
Unai Emery has a few problems in midfield with Lucas Torreira suspended and injury doubts over Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey.
Key Newcastle defender Fabian Schar is banned for the Magpies while Rafa Benitez is sweating on the fitness of fellow stopper Jamaal Lascelles.
It was 2-1 to Arsenal when these sides faced off at St James' Park earlier in the season but the win was more comfortable than the score suggested, with Ciaran Clark scoring a consolation at the death.
Mesut Ozil was on the scoresheet that day and the German could be worth backing for a repeat, given he's set to start with so many players out in midfield. He's 7/4 with Bet 365 to score at any time in the 90 minutes and that looks like good value.
An Arsenal win with both teams to score has been a good shout for most of the season but they've kept clean sheets in their last two games at the Emirates against Manchester United and Rennes.
That suggests they're getting more solid so try doubling a Gunners win with a clean sheet at 6/4 with Marathonbet.
Pierre Emerick Aubameyang has netted three times in his last two games and will be out to continue that fine form. Tipping him to score in an Arsenal win looks good value at 11/10 with Sky Bet and 10/11 with Paddy Power.
This English Premier League match between Arsenal and Newcastle will be played on Apr 1, 2019 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Arsenal vs Newcastle prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
In December 2020 we sadly 
