Eddie Howe unaware of Newcastle players' night out as he asks for names ahead of Arsenal clash

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has revealed he didn't realise his players had enjoyed a night at the Premier League Darts, days before their encounter with Arsenal. The Magpies boss was in a jovial mood, however, jokingly asking for a list of names.

The likes of defender Dan Burn were pictured at the Professional Darts Corporation event with the likes of Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen on show. Howe's side are in the capital to take on the Gunners as they look to dent Mikel Arteta's title aspirations and boost their push for Europe.

Newcastle earned the bragging rights in the last meeting as Arsenal lost in controversial circumstances at St James' Park after Anthony Gordon's effort after 64 minutes. On Thursday, the Magpies players were shown during Sky Sports' broadcast of the darts and the revelation to Howe, caught him by surprise.

He said: “I wasn’t aware of that. You need to give me a list of names please. Hopefully it wasn’t a late night."

Arsenal are looking to seek redemption from their defeat in November and keep the pressure on Liverpool and Manchester City in the Premier League title race. Their defeat last year sparked controversial comments from Gunners boss Mikel Arteta following the result, who slammed the officials.

«We need to talk about the result because we need to talk about how the hell this goal could stand? It's incredible,» the Spaniard said.

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«I feel embarrassed but I have to stand here and try to defend the club and please ask for help because it is an absolute disgrace that this goal was allowed — an absolute disgrace because it is not a goal.

»For many reasons, it