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Mark Lawrenson gets Rafa Benitez prediction wrong and now predicts Newcastle v Arsenal

5 years ago
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Mark Lawrenson has been looking ahead to Sunday’s match at St James Park.

Interesting what he has to say and compare it to what the BBC Sport pundit said back in May.

Speaking ahead of Newcastle hammering Fulham 4-0, Mark Lawrenson predicted: ‘The big questions, as ever, for the Magpies are will manager Rafa Benitez stay, and will he get the money that he wants to spend? I think the answers are ‘yes’ and ‘no’… but he will get some of it, and enough to make some more improvements to his squad.

That wasn’t the first prediction Mark Lawrenson has ever got wrong…

Now that we are faced with the new reality, Lawrenson says ‘As much as I know Newcastle fans loved Rafa Benitez…I think new Magpies boss Steve Bruce is a good manager and he has done some good jobs in the Premier League. The supporters need to get behind him and their new signings.’

As for the team, Mark Lawrenson predicts a 2-0 win for the visitors and points to a tough start for Steve Bruce against an Arsenal side wit firepower. Although there are doubts as to whether £72m new signing Pepe and Lacazette will play.

Mark Lawrenson speaking (ahead of Newcastle playing Fulham in last season’s final match) back on 9 May 2019:

“The big questions, as ever, for the Magpies are will manager Rafa Benitez stay, and will he get the money that he wants to spend?

“I think the answers are ‘yes’ and ‘no’… but he will get some of it, and enough to make some more improvements to his squad.

“We already know Magpies owner Mike Ashley is never going to splash the cash, because he could give Benitez £100m and he is realistically only going to finish seventh, at best.

“They are halfway up the table right now, so how many more places up the table are they going to get as a return for his money?

“That is Ashley’s way of thinking.

“He is a businessman and Newcastle made an £18.6m profit last season, so he is never going to agree with the fans urging him to spend.

Mark Lawrenson talking to BBC Sport ahead of Newcastle v Arsenal:

“As much as I know Newcastle fans loved Rafa Benitez…

“I think new Magpies boss Steve Bruce is a good manager and he has done some good jobs in the Premier League.

“The supporters need to get behind him and their new signings.

“This is a tough start for Bruce, though, because Arsenal have got a lot of firepower.

“I am not sure the Gunners have strengthened significantly at the back by signing David Luiz and Kieran Tierney, but their attack is good enough to win games like this anyway.

“Prediction is Newcastle 0 Arsenal 2.”

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