Topics: Eddie Howe, Newcastle United, Premier League, Callum Wilson
Ant & Dec celebrated with the likes of Dan Burn, Callum Wilson and Eddie Howe at pitchside following Newcastle's impressive win against Arsenal.
The boyhood Newcastle fans were in attendance for Monday night's Premier League clash at St James' Park as the Magpies continued their outstanding run of form with a 2-0 win.
An own goal from Ben White opened the scoring before January signing Bruno Guimaraes doubled United's lead with 85 minutes on the clock. Guimaraes has been a revelation since joining from Lyon, scoring five goals since arriving.
After the full-time whistle, a jubilant Ant McPartlin was joined by his best mate Declan Donnelly at pitchside to congratulate several Newcastle players, including Jacob Murphy and Callum Wilson.
They were all delighted to see the Geordie duo, who have attended games at St James' Park for years.
And before that, they were both snapped enjoying their side take the lead from the St James' stands.
Then, after Guimaraes made it 2-0, McPartlin was spotted waving his black and white scarf in the air as the Magpies climbed to 12th in the Premier League ladder.
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“We have ambitions to improve, so I hope that we’re not in this position again where we’re fighting through the season," manager Eddie Howe said after the final whistle.
“But the Premier League is so difficult, the league examines you in lots of different ways. The competition is fierce, everyone will have different aims and dreams.
"All I can pledge is that I will do everything in my power to make sure we come back a stronger team. But there’s no guarantee on anything.”
Howe was delighted at picking up a win against a top six club. "We knew this was something we hadn't achieved - getting something against the top six," he added.
"In the future we'll have to compete against these teams. We have to have confidence we can win anywhere. This will help us today.
"A whole host of things have helped us turn the results around - unity, team spirit and January definitely helped with quality players coming in. The mentality of the group, they were determined not to get relegated.
"The hardest thing for me this summer is to keep that [group spirit] intact while changing the dynamic of the group. There's a massive connection between us and the fans. The minimum we can give them is 100% effort every time we play. That's what they want to see. I think we've delivered that in the main."
