Karius back in the Premier League after five years! Catching on at Arsenal

Only the third choice goalkeeper had to go in goal in Newcastle’s game at Arsenal on Saturday. The unfortunate hero of the 2017/18 Champions League final, Loris Karius, got between the three sticks when Nick Popo and Martin Dúbravka were injured.

Tonight’s 26th round Premier League showpiece started to get interesting even before the opening whistle. For the first time since 2018, Loris Karius was in goal at Premier League level, the reason being injuries to Nick Pope and Martin Dúbravka.

Reassurance from the coach and two adaptive interventions by Karius

Coach Eddie Howe mentioned in his pre-match interview that he didn’t want to risk a minor injury to the Slovakian goalkeeper. He also reassured Magpies fans that Karius has trained a lot in recent weeks and is ready for his return to the Premier League.

He made his first saves in the opening ten minutes of the game at the Emirates Stadium. First, he saved a telegraphed attempt from the onrushing Bukay Saka, then he dealt with Kai Havertz’s shot from inside the whitewash. He could definitely say he was back. In the 18th minute, however, he cashed in after a corner kick.

Arsenal on a roll with the Champions League scratch

For Arsenal, there was a question mark over how they would react to this week’s Champions League match. The Gunners were surprisingly burnt out in Porto, losing by a goal in the last minute of stoppage time, with not a single shot on the opposition goal.

At the same time, Arsenal went into the match as the team with the best league form, winning the opening five rounds of the calendar year for the first time ever. The series included a 3-1 triumph over table leaders Liverpool and a 6-0 away demolition of West Ham.

Conversely, Newcastle have dealt with obvious defensive problems, getting a four from Luton in the last three rounds and scoring two goals each against Bournemouth and Nottingham. The Magpies last kept a league clean sheet in mid-December last year.

Source: Premier League