Lewis Hall snub explained by Eddie Howe as Dan Burn selection becomes clearer

There were plenty of surprises in Eddie Howe's team selection for Newcastle to take on Arsenal on Saturday, but perhaps the biggest was Lewis Hall being on the bench.

Granted, Hall didn't have the best of times last week against Bournemouth, but nobody did in that game. But beyond that one performance, Lewis Hall has been one of, if not Newcastle's best player this season, along with Bruno Guimaraes.

There's always a wave of fear that washes over the Toon Army whenever it becomes apparent that Dan Burn is playing at left back, especially when there's a pacey winger on the opposition's team sheet.

To be fair to Howe and indeed Burn, the Blyth-born defender did well up against both Noni Madueke and Bukayo Saka on Saturday, so we could say that Howe made the right choice.

Howe wanted Burn's height against Arsenal

Whether you agree or not, Eddie Howe explained to the media after the game his thinking behind starting Burn over Hall, and it all came down to physicality.

"It's always a difficult decision because Lewis is an outstanding player and you never for any second doubt his qualities and what he can bring to the team.

"But I felt today, for a number of reasons, that Dan was the right pick in terms of height and physicality and dealing with Arsenal's threats.

"Dan's ever let us down in that position. He plays it very differently to Lewis, but I thought that was the right call for this game."

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It felt like Howe was testing a few players today with his selection. Seeing who still has the fight and wants to show him that they're still worthy of a place in his squad next season.

Dan Burn turns 34 in a couple of weeks, and as highly respected as he is within the club and how adored he is by the fans, even he knows he's probably playing for his job now with such a big summer shakeup expected.

We may see a few more big calls like the ones Howe made today in future games as he assesses who will stay and who will go at the end of the season.