McArthur determined to defeat Dortmund in UEFA Youth League

The Toon teenagers travel to Germany ahead of facing their Dortmund counterparts at the BVB Brackel Training Ground, aiming for a positive result in order to continue their hopes of qualification into the knockout stages.

McArthur, who joined the Magpies from hometown club Kilmarnock in the summer of 2022, believes the squad can take inspiration from the closing stages of their previous Group F fixture against Dortmund - a narrow 2-1 defeat at the Gateshead International Stadium last month.

The Scottish centre-back, who has captained his country at under-19 level, told nufc.co.uk: “We did well in spells at times throughout the game (against Dortmund), particularly towards the end. You’d like to think if we had an extra five minutes, we could have scored another goal and came away with a better result.

“If we get a fast start and play the way we did against Dortmund in the last 20 minutes, we can get a better result this time round. We need to take that on board and play like this throughout the match.

“Now we’ve played the first three games, I think we know what to expect. Apart from the first match against Milan, we’ve all given a good account of ourselves especially in the past two games (against PSG and Borussia Dortmund) where we’ve been defeated by one goal. Now we are more comfortable and aware of what we’re up against.

“We’re not just there to compete and make the numbers up - we’re there to go out and win. With knowing the strength and weaknesses of each team, we’re definitely going there with the aim of getting three points."

Currently at the halfway stage of their Group F campaign, Newcastle’s teenagers are situated at the foot of Group F on zero points, with AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund all accruing six points.

McArthur, who made his senior debut for Kilmarnock in October 2021 at the age of 16, believes the experience gained from the squad’s participation in the opening three fixtures will only benefit United’s youngster in their remaining European encounters.

The 18-year-old defender added: “These are the competitions you want to be playing in. You see the first team doing so well in their Champions League group and it gives you that extra drive to go on do well in your own competition, playing against that level of opposition because that’s where you want to be playing, week in week out.

“For me, personally, it’s helped my development coming up against good players, especially the strikers for AC Milan, PSG and Dortmund.

“I’ve enjoyed it and it’s definitely helped me. There’s always top players in this competition and you’ll look back in a few years and say you’ve played against them in the UEFA Youth League. It will benefit me in the long-run."