NEWS NEWS BLOG SPORT brings you all the latest news from the Emirates Stadium.
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| Mesut Ozil boasts 16 assists for Arsenal this season already |
Steve McClaren insists Newcastle do not fear Arsenal ahead of today’s Premier League clash at the Emirates.
Newcastle are winless in three games heading into today’s 3pm kick off and have lost their last eight encounters with the Gunners.
They currently sit 18th in the table - two points from safety - but manager McClaren says his side can cause an upset this afternoon.
“We have gone to places like Old Trafford and White Hart Lane and shown we can compete. That’s what we want to do,” he told the Newcastle Chronicle.
“It’s what we have been doing over the last 11 games, apart from Leicester and Crystal Palace. We have been competing and you can’t fault the players for that.
“We have been unlucky in the last three games and we are hoping in 2016 that turns a bit.”
Meanwhile, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says he has given Mesut Ozil additional rest time over recent weeks.
Ozil has hit top form for Arsenal this season and is set to start against Newcastle today.
The Germany World Cup winner boasts 16 assists and three goals for the season and Wenger revealed how he has managed the player’s busy workload.
“I gave Mesut a one-week holiday during the international break,” Wenger said. “At the moment he doesn't practice a lot, we rest him a lot between the games.
“He is a guy who, once the basic fitness is there between the games, he wants to play. There are types of players, sometimes the most technical players, it looks like it demands less energy for them to play - it is just natural for them…
“You also look at the impact Ozil can have on other players. The Premier League is very tight and if you go into the decisive game and [rest Ozil or other key players], the other players think subconsciously ‘Why?’, and even the player himself.”
In transfer news, Wenger appears ready to do a U-turn on former player Oguzhan Ozyakup and bring him back to the club.
Ozyakup, 23, ended a four-year spell in Arsenal’s youth team when he switched to Besiktas in 2012.
He has gone on to earn 15 caps for Turkey and his five goals have helped Besiktas to the top of the Turkish Super Lig.
And his performances have caught the eye of Arsenal who, according to Turkish outlet Fanatik, are preparing a summer bid for the midfielder.
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