---
title: "Injury blow could see Joelinton start in midfield v Arsenal"
canonical: "https://readnewcastle.com/2022/05/15/jonjo-shelvey-injury-blow-could-see-joelinton-start-in-midfield-v-arsenal/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Crippy Cooke"
section: "Feature Writers"
published: "2022-05-15T11:55:14Z"
modified: "2022-05-15T11:55:15Z"
---

# Injury blow could see Joelinton start in midfield v Arsenal

Newcastle United welcome Arsenal to St James’ Park on Monday night, but the Magpies will have to line up without Jonjo Shelvey due to him picking up a [calf injury](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/may/14/newcastle-arsenal-match-preview-premier-league).

The 30-year-old has been [ruled out](https://www.shieldsgazette.com/sport/football/newcastle-united/jonjo-shelvey-ryan-fraser-joe-willock-newcastle-united-injury-list-and-return-dates-six-out-for-arsenal-3692428) for the remainder of the season, so Eddie Howe will have to replace him. But with Joe Willock also unavailable, Joelinton might have to return to a midfield role.

The 25-year-old has made [35 appearances](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/joelinton/leistungsdaten/spieler/333241) in all competitions this campaign, scoring four goals with one assist. He’s [impressed](https://readnewcastle.com/2022/05/07/joelinton-has-future-at-newcastle-despite-pundit-comment/) as a box-to-box midfielder and found his scoring boots when returning to an attacking role, so Joelinton is [an important player under Howe](https://readnewcastle.com/2022/03/19/kevin-campbell-says-effective-joelinton-has-been-surprise-package/).

Newcastle have commonly lined up with Shelvey, Willock and Bruno Guimaraes in midfield, but they’ll be without two of their usual trio so Howe has a difficult decision to make.

Joelinton is adept at turning over possession ([70 tackles](https://www.whoscored.com/Players/201755/Show/Joelinton), 34 interceptions) and can drive with the ball from deep (36/68 successful dribbles), so he’s not a bad option for Shelvey. Joelinton isn’t as good a passer, so the onus will be on Guimaraes to retain possession and feed the attacking players.

***[In other news, Newcastle right to sell Federico Fernandez this summer](https://readnewcastle.com/2022/05/12/newcastle-right-to-sell-federico-fernandez/)***