The 'remarkable' thing Bruno Guimaraes did vs Tottenham Hotspur & Newcastle United's £145m dilemma

It wasn’t pretty, it hasn’t been yet this season, but Newcastle United ended what has been a chastening week with a win - and what more could you ask for?

Goals from Harvey Barnes and Alexander Isak, either side of Dan Burn one in his own net, saw the Magpies make if four unbeaten for the campaign - the best start under Eddie Howe.

Here’s the five things we learned from the encounter.

Natural born leader

Every player has ups and downs, but Bruno Guimaraes is a rare commodity. The difference between his best and worst days is negligible - and I mean that in a good way - he never lets his team down.

And when this team has needed its captain - when backs are to the wall against Southampton and Spurs - he’s come out fighting.

The defensive shift he put in during the second 45 was remarkable. His attitude is infections, too, carrying everyone around him along, even the fans on the terraces.

The Isak effect

Put simply, Isak has not been anywhere near his best this season. I think, mostly, this tallies with the fact Newcastle haven’t either.

The service to the frontman has been sparring, and as a result, chances few and far between. Contrast that with Spurs, who created plenty but had no one to finish it off.

The Swede did, when it mattered - and that’s the difference, if Spurs had an Isak, this game might have been very different. Even when not playing at his peak, goals are his currency. Long may it continue.

Signs of life

It’s been a tough summer for Anthony Gordon.

Links to Liverpool didn’t die all window, and we know Arne Slot’s men are big fans of the player. And his experience with England, possibly linked to the former, was a challenge, to say the least. Fitness has also been an issue, given the player barely had a break for two full seasons.

His start to the season has drawn some questions from fans, but I thought, if only slightly, he stated to answer them against Spurs.

His output was not up there like last season, and he looked a little lost on the right, but there definitely was a little more energy in him, a spring in his step, if you will. Hopefully this is the start of the return of the old Gordon - and I think a trip with Lee Carsley’s England - a manager with whom he won the U21 Euros - will help in that regard.

The best of Barnes

I won’t have been the only one questioning what place Barnes had in the United squad. Used mainly as an impact sub, or injured, his first campaign on Tyneside was nothing really to write home about. However, the one thing that did shine through was his knack of scoring goals.

This season, though, and particularly in the last two games, he’s looked better than he ever has in black and white, I’d argue.

With Gordon and Barnes, alongside Isak, this is Newcastle’s most potent three - and Howe needs to find a way of squeezing the best out of all of them. I still think, however, losing some of Gordon by shifting to the right is more damaging than using Barnes there, who looked great in that role v Forest.

Tough little run to come?

The start to the season, so far, has been a little easier for Newcastle than usual, but, as ever, things ramp up - and the games between the two international breaks, although not absolutely eye-watering, bring about a set of whole new challenges.

Four out of the five games between the breaks for international football are away from home - and the one clash at St James’ Park is against Premier League champions Manchester City.

On the road, Newcastle need to improve from last season, and that need will be tested in the coming weeks.