Arsenal v Newcastle United: live 40 min Arsenal's grip has slipped somewhat. Gutierrez sees his shot deflect behind for a corner. It's half cleared, but Newcastle keep the ball. 39 min Newcastle sportingly put the ball out when in a reaonable position in Arsenal's half, on account of Koscielny doing himself a mischief when challenging Ba for a loose ball. He's all right, don't worry. Please DON'T worry! 35 min Here's that Van Persie scoring Arsenal's equaliser, complete with amusingly redundant Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain appeal to pass it: 33 min Crossed in, after a stuttering run-up. Vermaelen on the end of it but his shot is blocked by Williamson. 32 min Newcastle dropping ever-deeper. Arsenal continuing with their four-point plan but haven't created anything reeeeallly since the goal. RVP stands over a free kick that's out wide on the right... 28 min This remains very positive for Arsenal. They're dictating the terms of the game, and they are roughly as follows: Newcastle will not be allowed the ball • We will pass it around for as long as we like • Someone will give it away, to keep it interesting • Then we'll win it straight back again. and repeat. 25 min Arsenal playing some impressive stuff now, Arteta and Rosicky combining well in the middle. As if they've located the elixir of endless accurate passing that powered Wenger's side when they were really, really good. Eventually Rosicky tries a through ball for Walcott, who's offside. 23 min On target and powerfully struck from RVP but central, where Krul was, and so easily dealt with by the keeper. 22 min Arsenal have a free kick about five yards out of the area. Shall I just type up the Van Persie goal now? 18 min RVP exhibits a touch too much confidence, taking a shot on too early from outside the box after Walcott found him in space. Here's Marc Melander: The Dutch master has now scored the same number of goals on his own as the wretched Liverpool have scored in the PL. I make it three goals more... (or five less if you're only including RVP's Premier League goals) Arsenal 1 Newcastle 1 (van Persie)...it's Robin van Persie's 33rd of the season! Walcott's promising forays down the right produce a chance again and this time RVP can control, beat Williamson, and find the bottom corner. Less than a minute between the goals. Arsenal 0 Newcastle 1 (Ben Arfa) Vermaelen gives the ball away in between centre circle and penalty area, Newcastle work it wide, Ben Arfa cuts inside and onto his better left foot before smashing it past Szczesny on his near post... 13 min Arsenal corner, played short. RVP swings it in and Walcott, beyond the far post, clips it back towards whence it came. Briefly looks to be sailing above Krul, but it's easy for the keeper in the end. 12 min Arsenal on the ball, the game's settled down a bit. Walcott cuts inside after receiving a Rosicky pass, but his attempts to thread it through the Newcastle defends only finds the shins of Coloccini. 9 min Song goes down after a naughty ankle-stamp by Cisse. Not spotted by Howard Webb. Remind you of anything? 7 min Coloccini looks to find Ba with a clipped through ball from inside the centre circle. Too long, Szczesny can gather it. Enjoyably open feel to this so far. 5 min RVP brings down a high ball in the box and looks to get past Williamson. He succeeds, but a combination of Krul and Coloccini do enough to stifle the chance. Pity poor Paul Kerton: Took my daughters to the fab new stadium in Cape Town to see England v Algeria 2010 (cost me a fortune). The evening was unbelievably exciting but the game? As you know England didn't turn up. So embarrassed. 3 min Van Persie goes close to making it 412 games this season. Walcott beats Coloccini on the left and puts an inviting cross into the middle. RVP's there and surely there's only one outcome... Yes, he fails to connect and it's out for a throw on the other side. Not quite sure how he failed to guide that past Krul. 2 min Newcastle on the attack early on. Ba wins a corner after his shot from inside the box is deflected behind. Corner is worked backwards and crossed in from deep by Tiote. Coloccini fails to latch onto it. 1 min Here we are then, it's a football match. Newcastle kick off. 19.57 That's some nice Tweetin' - 19.55 The players are in the tunnel. Try to contain your excitement. 19.50 Here's Alexander Moussaieff: Anti-climax? The delusion of partying till the early hours like never before upon the completion of an examination period. You skip into the bar at 11am only to pass out mid-afternoon, ruining the great plans of made-up-for-lost-time partying. Never happens. Massive anti-climax. 19.40 Shall we play a game of count the Frenchman? I make it two in the Arsenal starting eleven and four in Newcastle's. #unexpected #wow #inappropriatehashtags 19.32 Here are this evening's subs and the name of the card-bearer: Arsenal: Fabianski, Andre Santos, Ramsey, Djourou, Gervinho, Chamakh, Benayoun. Newcastle: Elliot, Guthrie, Cisse, Perch, Gosling, Shola Ameobi, Vuckic. Referee: Howard Webb (S Yorkshire) 19.30 Gary Neville is prediciting a more compact, defensive Newcastle this evening, a team that have learned from their thumping at Spurs a few weeks ago. Oh, good. 19.15 Some teams? Sure, why not: Arsenal: Szczesny; Sagna, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Gibbs; Song, Arteta; Walcott, Rosicky, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Van Persie. Newcastle: Krul; Simpson, Williamson, Coloccini, Santon; Obertan, Cabaye, Tiote, Gutierrez; Ben Arfa; Ba. 19.00 Here comes Monday Night Football. Gary Neville looks focussed. He's probably still angry after having to cover Bolton v QPR on Saturday. 18.30 Evening liveblog lotharios. The problem with doing something excellent in sport is that it raises expectations. Not every Wayne Rooney goal can be like this: Not every Liverpool FA Cup final song can be like this: Not every Arsenal v Newcastle game can be like this: Oh, sorry, I meant like this: I am sticking resolutely to my theory that Arsenal have endured an annus horribilis that ran from their Carling Cup final defeat to Birmingham City until they beat Tottenham 5-2 a few weeks ago. Suddenly, those days of throwing away 4-0 leads and being absolutely dreadful look doomed to history. Newcastle have proved capable of digging in and getting a result when they've needed to this season, but that's tended to make for fairly soporific football matches. Let's hope they're feeling extroverted and up for a lot of fun this evening. I'd snap your hand off for 4-4. Team news and far more to follow, have a lovely preview in the meantime: Monday, March 12, 2012 Arsenal v Newcastle United Emirates Stadium Kick off: 20.00 GMT TV: Live Sky Sports 1 Referee: Howard Webb (M21 R3 Y64)