Newcastle Planning To Rest Players For The Arsenal Clash (News)

 Newcastle boss Chris Hughton has admitted that he is likely to rest the Newcastle first-teamers and give his fringe players a chance to star in the Carling Cup.  Newcastle are already going to be without former Arsenal man, Sol Campbell, out with injury, but they’re also going to be deprived of Steven Taylor, Steve Harper, Leon Best, Hatem Ben Arfa and Dan Gosling.

This news will come as good news for us Gooners, as Arsenal are looking to win the competition.  However, even with a weaken side, the Newcastle side is not to be underestimated, as they also dispatched a Chelsea side, with a weakened team, in the previous round.  However, Newcastle haven't beaten Arsenal in cup competition since 1952 FA Cup final, losing 6 and drawing 1 of 7 cup games since and scoring just once (stats credit: @Orbinho).

Here is what the Newcastle manager had to say:

"I'll definitely make changes - how many, I don't know," he told the Jarrow & Hebburn Gazette. "It will be an opportunity for a lot of players. We're at home - it's a nice opportunity for us."