Newcastle have made the decision to recall Martin Dubravka from his loan spell at Manchester United just days before the Magpies are set to meet Arsenal in the Premier League. Dubravka joined United on a temporary basis after they allowed Dean Henderson to join Nottingham Forest on loan, but he could now be involved in the Newcastle squad for their visit to the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal extended the gap between themselves and Manchester City to seven points on New Year's Eve as Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Martinelli all scored a 4-2 win over Brighton. Newcastle had the chance to place some pressure on Mikel Arteta's side ahead of their midweek clash but they were unable to leapfrog City after also drawing at home to Leeds United.
It's unclear whether Dubravka's return suggests that Nick Pope may be a doubt for the clash or if instead Newcastle were not pleased with the minutes he was receiving. The 33-year-old made two appearances for Erik ten Hag's side, most recently playing in the Carabao Cup win over Burnley, keeping a clean sheet in the process
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Newcastle confirmed the decision in a statement. It read: "Martin Dúbravka has been recalled from his season-long loan spell with Manchester United. The Slovakia international goalkeeper joined the Red Devils on a temporary basis in September and made two appearances under Erik ten Hag.
"Dúbravka, who joined the Magpies from Czech side Sparta Prague, initially on loan, in January 2018 has made 130 competitive appearances during his time on Tyneside, recording 37 clean sheets in the English top-flight.
"He won the club's 2019/20 Player of the Year award as well as the 2018 North East Football Writers' Association Player of the Year, and recorded eight shut-outs last term."
"Dubravka will now provide further competition for Nick Pope, who kept his ninth league clean sheet of the season - the most in the Premier League - in Saturday's 0-0 draw with Leeds."
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