ALAN Shearer has urged Newcastle to take a leaf out of Arsenal's book by keeping their unbeaten run going in tomorrow's Premiership showdown with Kevin Keegan's Manchester City.

With the Gunners set to make it 50 league games without defeat if they win or draw at Old Trafford, Newcastle entertain the blue half of Manchester looking to extend their own unbeaten sequence.

The Magpies have not tasted defeat since the 4-2 reverse at Villa Park that heralded the downfall of Sir Bobby Robson, a run of eight games that has seen the club rise into the top ten of the Premiership and make a winning start to the Group Stage of the UEFA Cup.

Arsenal are setting new records every time they walk onto the field at the moment, and Shearer admits that the Gunners currently look invincible.

But, while he accepts that Newcastle are not quite in that class, he sees no reason why they can't extend their current run into double figures at least.

"I'm not daft enough to say that we have got to do what Arsenal have done," said Shearer, who held his nerve to convert the 87th-minute penalty that earned his side a 1-0 win over Greek side Panionios on Thursday. "Because I don't think their feat will be achieved again.

"The run they are on is something special - so special that you can't see them getting beat in any game they go into.

"They are the benchmark for everyone because they're in a league of their own at the moment.

"They will get beaten one day, but what we have got to do is turn our seven-game unbeaten run into one of 15, 16 or 17 games if we can.

"Winning or not getting beaten are great habits to be in - Arsenal will tell you that. The longer it goes on, the harder you are to beat because you have more confidence and, in football, confidence is a huge thing.

"There is going to be a time when we do lose, just as there's a time when Arsenal will. That's when we all have to stick together, but at the moment we're enjoying it and long may that continue."

Thursday night's winner was Shearer's seventh goal of the season, although the former England international insists his tally should be eight after he was robbed of his deflected strike at Southampton by the Premier League's dubious goals committee.

The 34-year-old needs 20 more goals to break Jackie Milburn's all-time goalscoring record for the Magpies, but is refusing to be drawn on whether this season represents his only chance of rewriting the history books.

Graeme Souness has confirmed that he will be asking Shearer to go back on his pledge to retire at the end of the current campiagn, but the United skipper is reluctant to discuss his long-term plans at such an early stage of the season.

"I won't go into that at the moment," said Shearer. "All I'm concerned about is the game against Manchester City. I want to get 20 or 25 goals this season and then see what happens after that.

"My situation is the same - I will take each game as it comes. Hopefully, I can score and help to get three points against City, and help to turn this team into a successful one."

With Patrick Kluivert still struggling with a hamstring injury, Shearer is likely to resume his partnership with Craig Bellamy as he locks horns with the manager who shelled out £15m to take him to St James' Park in the summer of 1996.

Midfielder Nicky Butt is back from suspension, meaning at least one of either Laurent Robert or James Milner will have to drop out of the side that beat Panionios.

Robert made only his second start under Souness in the Nea Smyrni Stadium on Thursday and, after a lethargic first half, the Frenchman's improved workrate helped to drive Newcastle forward after the break.

The 29-year-old has been shunted out of the first-team picture by his new boss and, with Shaun Wright-Phillips terrorising opponents down Manchester City's right flank this season, Robert could find himself frozen out again tomorrow.

The wing wizard has been frustrated by his lack of first-team opportunities this term but, after a number of high-profile outbursts in the past, he is ready to heed his manager's instructions and let his football do the talking.

"I have been out for a long time and I am very happy to play," said Robert, whose only other start under Souness came in the 5-1 European win over Hapoel Bnei Sakhnin. "Now I want to stay in the team.

"I think I played well and played to the manager's instructions. I hope to play against Manchester City and if I don't I will be upset, but there will be no tantrums from me.

"This is the new Laurent Robert. I closed my website and it will stay shut - I want people to see a lot more of me and hear a lot less.

"I want to play on Sunday because it should be a more attacking game. I think the manager likes me and understands my position - I want him to know that I like him and want to do well."

Souness has been ambivalent about Robert's qualities in the past, claiming that the more he asks of the Frenchman the less he seems to get in return.

The Scot clearly wants to see an improvement in the winger's defensive game and, while Robson would occasionally turn a blind eye to some of Robert's weaknesses, Souness is adamant that his midfield cannot afford to carry a passenger.

The message seems to have got through, with Robert more impressed by what he did going backwards against Panionios than the second-half set-pieces that threatened to help Newcastle gain the lead.

"I tried to do what he (Souness) wanted me to do and I hope he is happy. I think Ollie (Bernard) is because I was always there helping him, that will have pleased him.

"I was tracking back and sometimes finished behind Ollie, so maybe he should be worried about the club's new left-back!

"But seriously, I am a left winger and that's where I want to play. Putting in crosses for our strikers is what I'm best at.

"It's what I enjoy doing, although I know I have other jobs to do on the pitch. That is where the new Laurent Robert will do his talking."

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