'Unlucky: Fabrizio Romano has said what he's heard about Eddie Howe's future after Arsenal hammering

Newcastle United failed to turn up for the first half at the Emirates last night and weren't much better in the second either as the hosts walked to a 4-1 win.

The first 45 minutes could go down as one of, if not the worst Newcastle performances I've seen under Eddie Howe. For all Arsenal were superb and on top of their game, there was literally no fight, no effort, no heart from the boys in black and white.

Whatever Eddie Howe said at half time put a bit of fire in their bellies and the lads came out with a bit more intent, but Arsenal were just far too good on the night and they made it look so easy.

So much was out of Eddie Howe's control this season

As is often the case after a heavy defeat, the reaction from a large portion of Newcastle fans was ... excessive, and justifiably so to be fair. However, there will be those calling for Howe's head and blaming him entirely for all that has gone wrong this season.

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Don't get me wrong, he has to take some responsibility, he picks the team and sets the tactics at the end of the day, but the insane number of injuries he's had to contend with has massively disrupted any plans he had this season. Then add to that the ridiculousness of Financial Fair Play meaning we couldn't strengthen in January when we so desperately needed it and the whole Dan Ashworth thing, there's been a lot for Howe to wade through.

At the start of the season, I said that I wouldn't expect us to repeat last season's successes, especially with Liverpool and Chelsea likely to get their act together (at least one of them has), so a top-eight finish and another good cup run would be a good season. We're still on for that - fingers tightly crossed for a win on Tuesday - so really, in spite of everything, we're still on target for what I was expecting this season.

Next season will be very telling for Newcastle United and Eddie Howe

So do I think Eddie Howe is under pressure? Not at all, and it seems to be the case as Fabrizio Romano has told Caught Offside the same.

“As for Newcastle, the feeling at the club is that they’ve had a really unlucky season. Things were moving in a very positive direction last term, but now they’ve had many injuries, and it was not possible to bring in new players in January due to Financial Fair Play issues.

“For sure it’s not going well, but I’m not aware of contacts with other managers in this moment. They know it’s been a complicated season for all parties involved, not only for the manager.”

It sounds then, that Eddie Howe will get another crack at things next season when it will hopefully be more of a clear shot and we can get an idea of where we are as a club and he is as a manager. The good will he's built up with his heroics in his first half-season and last season will carry him through to the next campaign, but I'd imagine if things start to go south next year, then the owners will consider a change.