Newcastle’s tricky balancing act and Arsenal’s search for fifth gear

The last time Arsenal played at St James’ Park was six months ago, Martin Ødegaard leading a 2-0 win that cut Manchester City’s Premier League lead to a single point, the title race back on. Or was it? Mikel Arteta’s side promptly lost to Brighton and Nottingham Forest, tying the sky-blue ribbons to a trophy they had kept one hand on since the Human Rights World Cup break. Oh, Arsenal! Mind, the Gunners have not suffered much of a hangover. They still haven’t lost in the league since that day at the City Ground, winning seven of their 10 games despite not yet hitting that fast, fluid, near-unplayable attacking fifth gear they found last season. Perhaps that’s because Ange Postecoglou popped in and asked to borrow it, and he’s such a nice bloke that you just can’t say no.

Arsenal’s setbacks have come in Cups both Big and Fizzy, with the 3-1 midweek loss at West Ham taking another potential trophy off the shelf. The better news for Arteta is that Ødegaard should be fit for Saturday’s fan-unfriendly, tea-time trip north. “He had a little issue that he was grumbling with … he will train and if he’s fine he will be ready,” tooted the Arsenal manager. As for Newcastle, their biggest steps towards becoming the merciless, globe-straddling behemoth outlined in their five-year plan have come in knockout football – that walloping of PSG, and chucking both Manchesters City and (less remarkably) United out of Milk Cup.

“The whole squad will be lifted by that performance,” cheered Eddie Howe while dropping a bit of the Lighthouse Family into the matchday playlist. Three straight league losses early this season left Newcastle playing catch-up, but they are now stationed in sixth place, the best of the rest beneath Aston Villa in fifth. Howe has a tricky balancing act this month, with key away-days in Paris and Dortmund to tick off while keeping the club in contention to punch their Big Cup ticket for next season. All of which sets us up for, if not a must-win, then a prefer-not-to-lose affair on Saturday evening. We’ll be under a blanket, curtains drawn and will happily take another 4-4 draw, thanks very much.

Elsewhere, how much worse can it get for Erik ten Hag? We’ll find out at Craven Cottage, where Manchester United haven’t lost since the dog days of … er, Sir Alex Ferguson in December 2009. Bournemouth bid to end an unlucky run of 13 straight Premier League defeats to Manchester City, while Burnley v Crystal Palace will be last on Match of the Day. Sunday’s games have an agreeably old-school vibe: Forest v Villa and Luton v Liverpool in a Big Match double bill. On Monday night, we’re off to Jamie Vardy’s house to watch Spurs – in the title race whether they like it or not – face an off-key but still dangerous Chelsea. Then there’s roughly 19 hours to stare at the wall before the Magpies’ Big Cup trip to Dortmund. No pesky World Cup break this year: just sweet, nourishing, relentless domestic football to while these dark nights away. See you in 2024!

There’s a humdinger in the Championship on Friday night. Join Niall McVeigh for Leicester 0-0 Leeds from 8pm GMT.

5.11pm, 2 November: “For 10 days, a media frenzy has been created at the club around a ‘clash’ between [manager] Michel Der Zakarian and Mamadou Sakho. Contrary to what has been said and relayed, no precautionary dismissal has been taken against Mamadou Sakho” – Montpellier deny having bundled the former Liverpool and Palace defender through the door marked Do One after some unspecified beef went down at a training session.

4.59pm, 2 November: “You have to know how to leave the table when respect is no longer served” – it transpires Sakho has already downed his metaphorical cutlery and flung himself through it anyway.

Big Website, Football Weekly, Suzy Wrack and Nick Ames are up for gongs at the FSA Awards. You can vote for them (and others, we’re a democracy) here.

Re: Springfield Park (yesterday’s Memory Lane, full email edition). The first match I ever attended was Wigan Athletic v Manchester City there in 1965, a friendly arranged because Latics bought the old floodlights from Maine Road. Your photo reminded me that the ground remained pretty much unchanged for the remaining 44 years of its existence. The most (in)famous feature being the grassy bank at the away end which became a mud-slide on rainy days, producing great scenes like this“ – John Caley.

As a long-time contributor to one of the world’s biggest-selling monthly music titles, may I set Noble Francis’ mind at rest that Mojo is as much a 1990s music magazine as The Guardian is an 1820s newspaper (yesterday’s Football Daily letters). In fact, Mojo has just celebrated its 30th birthday. Its first issue came out on 15 October 1993 – a couple of days before my team Sunderland were thumped 4-1 by Boro in the second tier. Fast forward exactly three decades and – a few days before Mojo lit the candles on its virtual birthday cake – SAFC, in a cruel but entirely predictable attempt at symmetry, once more conceded four to our Smoggy pals from down the A19 in a second-tier match. That’s just the way it is, as one 1980s American rock musician once put it. Things very much stay the bleedin’ same” – Stephen Worthy.

Fair play to Noble Francis using Judas Priest as a stick with which to beat the soft rock of Def Leppard, but ‘Birmingham’s finest rock musicians’? Black Sabbath would like a word. Presumably, not a quiet one” – David Kramer.

With Noble Francis presumably taking himself out of regular Football Daily epistolary efforts, I’d like to urge you to flip the prize switch back on forthwith and posthaste” – Conor Williams.

Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’ the day is … Stephen Worthy.

It’s the FA Cup first round, folks, and after a big win against Dorking in the last qualifying round, we’re following Horsham’s progress. The seventh-tier minnows travel to Barnsley for their big day out and you’d think they’d be feeling all warm and gooey thanks to the Magic of the Cup™, wouldn’t you? Nope. They’re fuming. “It’s a farce, just mad,” roared manager Dominic Di Paola of the match being moved to Friday night on police advice. “We got relatively late notice about the time of the game and I am disappointed for our players and their families. We have a big family feel to the club and the kids are a big part of the fanbase. They aren’t gonna be able to get out of school on Friday.” Di Paola’s mood was hardly helped by the match being overlooked for TV coverage, too. “It’s just a shame that none of that was thought about. It’s a long way to travel on a Friday for any club. It would’ve made sense to move two teams who didn’t have to travel as far.” Ah well. More fuel for the Cup upset fire so they can get a proper weekend fixture in the second round. Up the Hornets!

Newcastle are refusing to rule out the initiation of legal action against Milan over the transfer of Sandro Tonali after his 10-month ban for breaching Italian betting regulations. “You look at your processes. I’ve been doing this for 16 years and nothing like this has happened before,” sighed club suit Dan Ashworth.

Luis Díaz is back in training with Liverpool but, amid reports his kidnapped father is soon to be released in Colombia, Jürgen Klopp says it will be the player’s decision whether he is available to play at Fulham or not on Sunday.

After bother in Rio, Conmebol has called on Boca Juniors and Fluminense fans to behave in the Copa Libertadores final at the Maracanã. “Share the moments of joy and celebration that our football gives us,” it said. “We repudiate any acts of violence and racism that may occur in the context of the final.”

Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel reckons his players have already shaken off their German Cup humiliation and he’s happy his squad hasn’t started tearing strips off each other before Der Klassiker. “There is no reason to be resigned at all,” he chirped. “What I liked was that no one blamed the other because there is no reason for that … we go to Dortmund to win the game!”

Casemiro has been ruled out by Manchester United for “for several weeks”, which is ostensibly more bad news for the club unless you’ve actually seen his recent performances.

Ange Postecoglou hopes Mauricio Pochettino will receive a reception worthy of his “undeniable impact” at Tottenham when he returns with Chelsea on Monday, but says there will be “no [flamin’] guard of honour”.

Uefa will co-organise the Ballon d’Or shindig next year, with head-honcho Aleksander Ceferin blathering loudly that the gongs will have “a natural blend of prominence and a synergy that promises to be nothing short of exceptional”.

And Nottinghamshire-based Surinamese champions Robinhood have reached the Caribbean Cup final, along with securing a spot in next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup, after seeing off Dominican rivals Moca on penalties.

Sid Lowe chats to one-time wonderkid Bojan Krcic about Stoke and his new role back at Barcelona.

“I said to my dad prior: ‘Imagine getting Charlton away’ – and we did. I couldn’t believe it.” Sunday’s FA Cup tie for Cray Valley (PM) is a dream come true for the Lisbies. Morgan Ofori catches up with Kevin and Kyrell.

It’s not happening for Gio Reyna at Dortmund? Graham Ruthven looks at why.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes! Dan Morgan takes a look at the current and future potential impact of five substitutions being made in matches.

Watching a Premier League game this weekend? Here are 10 things our writers have recommended you look out for, in the usual style.

And here’s the sport quiz of the week, if you’re that way inclined.

Hello, hello, hello, what’s all this then? It’s the Metropolitan Police Sports Club’s mascot, PCSO Steve, struggling to come to terms with their 2-1 defeat by Crawley in the FA Cup first round on this day in 2012. Cheer up, Steve!