Newcastle United lost 2-0 away at Arsenal tonight.
Newcastle United slipped to a defeat at Arsenal tonight, as they lost 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium, with the Gunners ultimately easing to victory.
Aaron Ramsey opened the scoring in the first half, sending a shot past Martin Dubravka and in off the post, before Newcastle had a decent spell after the break.
However, Jamaal Lascelles couldn’t cut out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s flick-on, and Alexandre Lacazette ran through to lob Dubravka for 2-0.
Rafael Benitez will be disappointed with the defeat, even if Newcastle were underdogs, but one thing went under the radar tonight – and that was surrounding Mo Diame’s inclusion in midfield.
The Senegal ace started against Bournemouth last time out, stepping into the side as Sean Longstaff is out injured, and he started once again tonight.
Before that Bournemouth start, The Chronicle noted that Diame was three starts away from triggering a new one-year contract extension.
With tonight’s start, Diame is now just one Premier League start away from earning that deal, and with Longstaff out for the foreseeable future, it seems inevitable that Diame will now be earning that contract.
The 31-year-old is set to become a free agent otherwise, and Benitez choosing to start him two games in a row whilst knowing that contract situation suggests that Diame will be staying at St James’ Park.
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