Mikel Arteta doesn’t feel that last season’s 2-0 loss to Newcastle United will have any impact on the encounter between the sides on Sunday.
Almost exactly 12 months ago, we saw our hopes of a Champions League return all but end at St James’ Park in the final week of the campaign, but Mikel feels that any emotional hangovers from that match have long been overcome and forgotten.
Much has changed for both sides in the past year, with us sealing qualification to Europe’s premier competition with weeks to spare, while the Magpies have swapped relegation battles for top-four ones.