McArthur "delighted" to be back in action after injury

The young Magpies continue their pre-season schedule with a trip to League Two side Barrow AFC, who finished ninth in the English fourth tier last season, on Saturday 29th July (kick-off 3pm BST).

McArthur, who joined the Magpies from hometown club Kilmarnock in July 2022, believes United’s second-string can take positives from their previous friendly encounter, a narrow 2-0 loss against League One outfit Carlisle United last weekend, ahead of their visit to the SO Legal Stadium.

The 18-year-old centre-back, who made his senior debut for Kilmarnock as a 16-year-old in October 2021, told nufc.co.uk: “Barrow's going to be another good test. We’ll be playing against men who are streetwise, which adds more experience to our pre-season rather than playing against under-21 sides. Facing those kind of teams gives you that extra edge of going into the season and starting strongly.

“Being in Kilmarnock’s first-team, I’d always been around older players through the youth system so I’m used to that and it’s just about getting back into that environment as the maturity levels and standards have raised from playing with the under-18s last season. I’ve have to adjust to it but I’ve enjoyed it.

“I thought we gave a good account of ourselves (against Carlisle) in the second-half. We came into the game and, in my opinion, we should have won after the way we played and played the way Ben (Dawson) wants us to; fast football and winning it back as soon as we lose it.

“There were a lot of young boys on the pitch and every single one of us did well and that all contributed towards a good team performance in the second-half. We did most of those things right and, although the result did not go our way, I thought we made a really good account of ourselves."

McArthur, who captained Scotland at the 2022 European Under-17 Championship in Israel, expressed his delight in returning to footballing action in recent weeks after suffering a lateral meniscus (knee) injury following a Tyne-Wear derby clash against Sunderland Under-18s in September, leaving the young Scot sidelined for the remainder of the 2022/23 campaign before featuring in a 30-minute friendly clash against Hebburn Town earlier this month as well as completing 45 minutes against Carlisle at the Gateshead International Stadium last weekend.

Despite the lengthy setback, McArthur revealed the time spent off the pitch allowed him to improve certain aspects of his body and believes he is now reaping the benefits from his strenuous regime as he aims to secure a regular spot in the backline of United’s under-21 side ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.

The teenage defender added: “I’m absolutely delighted to be back playing. It’s been long and frustrating but I’ve worked everyday to get back and the games are what you want to come back for. Playing against a League One side and doing well, I just want as many minutes as possible and then getting into the league games after that.

“It was tough watching everyone train everyday and playing games but I knew if I stuck at it, I would get back to the level I was playing at before and be even better because, when I was injured, I worked everyday on different things, developing physically, and I’m starting to see the signs of what I worked on during my time injured and it’s all falling into place.

“Pre-season has been going well so far and it’s good to be back training consistently. There’s been tough sessions but the standard has been good, coming back in good shape so we’re looking forward to the season ahead.

“Being in Kilmarnock’s first-team, I’d always been around older players through the youth system so I’m used to that and it’s just about getting back into that environment and the maturity levels and standards have raised from playing with the under-18s last season. I’ve have to adjust to it but I’ve enjoyed it."