Arsenal out to set new club defensive record against Newcastle United

The Gunners have been rewriting pages of their history books throughout 2024 so far, having won their first five league games of a calendar year for the first time ever.

The fourth match in that sequence — the 6-0 annihilation of West Ham United — also saw Arsenal achieve their biggest-ever Premier League away win, and their joint-largest success away from home in their entire league history.

Thanks to their record-breaking exploits, Arsenal sit third in the table — five points behind leaders Liverpool with a match in hand — although a 1-0 defeat to Porto in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie did dampen spirits in midweek.

Mikel Arteta's men have also been left frustrated in their last two clashes with Newcastle, going down 1-0 at St James' Park last November after a goalless home draw against Eddie Howe's men in January 2023.

However, that 0-0 stalemate in North London saw Arsenal register their seventh successive Premier League clean sheet against Newcastle on familiar soil, and not since the 2014-15 season have they shipped a goal in a top-flight home game to the Magpies.

Should Arteta's men prevent Newcastle from finding the back of the net on Saturday, it will mark the first time in Arsenal's history that they have kept eight straight home clean sheets against a single opponent in league matches.

Ayoze Perez was the last man to score for Newcastle at the Emirates in a Premier League game, although his strike in December 2014 was a mere consolation, as Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla both netted twice for Arsenal in a 4-1 win.

Since then, the visitors have attempted 63