Joba Ogunwale

Arsenal missed the chance to extend their lead over Manchester City after they played out a goalless draw in their Premier League clash against Newcastle at the Emirates on Tuesday night.&nbsp;

Going into the game, Arsenal had the chance to extend their lead at the top to ten points after City dropped points at the weekend.&nbsp;

However, the Gunners could not find a way past a resilient Newcastle side.&nbsp;

Having defeated Brighton last time out, Arsenal started the game on the front foot, dominating possession as expected. However, despite firing seven shots, Mikel Arteta's men tested Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope just once.&nbsp;

The second half followed a similar pattern, with Arsenal having 70% of the possession. The home side did raise their tempo, with Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka coming close. However, Pope came to Newcastle's rescue once again.&nbsp;

Moments later, the Gunners had penalty shouts after Granit Xhaka's ball caught the arm of a Newcastle defender, but the referee waived away their appeals, much to the disgust of the Switzerland captain.&nbsp;

Arsenal piled on the pressure in the final stages of the match, but Newcastle were resilient in defence, holding out for a valuable point away from home.&nbsp;

<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The points are shared at Emirates Stadium. <a href="https://t.co/nTco7asRu2">pic.twitter.com/nTco7asRu2</a>&mdash; Arsenal (@Arsenal) <a href="https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1610390533398204416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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The result means the Magpies stay in contention for a Champions League spot. Howe's men maintain their third position on the table, although they are now level on points with Manchester United, who beat Bournemouth.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, Arsenal extended their lead over City to eight points, but the champions could claw it back to five points if they beat Chelsea on Thursday.

Arsenal struggled to break down a resilient Newcastle side

The Gunners dropped points in their clash against Eddie Howe's men on Tuesday night.

Arsenal miss the chance to extend lead over Manchester City

Argentina's World Cup-winning captain Lionel Messi is set to renew his rivalry with his old foe, Cristiano Ronaldo, in the first quarter of this year

Messi has been in an age-long rivalry with Ronaldo, dating back to 2007, when they first met. The two players have had some great battles, mostly at club level.

<h3>Messi vs Ronaldo's rivalry&nbsp;</h3>

They faced each other numerous times during their time together in Spain. While Messi played for Barcelona, Ronaldo played for rivals Real Madrid.&nbsp;Messi holds the edge, with 16 wins to Ronaldo's 11

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will face each other on the pitch later this month

The two also faced each other after Ronaldo moved to Juventus in a Champions League clash in December 2020.

However, since then, they have not faced each other, with their paths not crossing. Messi had since left Barcelona for Paris Saint Germain (PSG), while Ronaldo had left for Manchester United before terminating his contract.

<h3>One Last Dance for Messi and Ronaldo</h3>

It looked like their paths would not cross again, but Ronaldo's latest move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr has set up a potential final meeting between the two players who defined the modern era of the beautiful game.

Ronaldo, who joined Al-Nassr this month after signing the most expensive deal in football history, could face Messi one final time when PSG come to Saudi Arabia.

Ronaldo's new club Al-Nassr will face PSG in a friendly later this month.

According to <a href="https://www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/2023/psg-to-face-al-nassr-in-friendly-this-month/">RMC, as per GFFN</a>, Christophe Galtier's men are set to face Al-Nassr as part of their mid-season tour of Saudi Arabia.

Although the meeting should have taken place last year, it was postponed to this year due to Covid-19 reasons. It is now being reported that the match will take place this month, although a date has not been fixed.

However, it is likely to come towards the end of the month as PSG still have three games to play before they embark on their mid-season tour.

Both Messi and Ronaldo are yet to play a match for their respective clubs since the World Cup, with the former still celebrating his crowning moment, which saw him win the World Cup.

However, Messi is expected back in Paris, while Ronaldo will be unveiled by Al-Nassr today, meaning they are set for one last dance later this month.

Ronaldo and Messi are set to clash one last time

The two players are set to continue their age-long rivalry despite their different paths.

Messi and Ronaldo set to face each other again

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Joba Ogunwale

Articles written by the author

Arsenal miss the chance to extend lead over Manchester City

Messi and Ronaldo set to face each other again