The 28-year-old will run out at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium tomorrow with the rehabilitation process ongoing, but having rediscovered the kind of form which brought him to England prominence during his time at Manchester City. It is a measure of the extent to which Barton has put his problems behind him that he has won over fans who once reviled him for dragging their club's name through the dirt. Kevin Nolan and Shola Ameobi, closely followed by Andy Carroll, a youngster who has had his own share of off-the-field problems, claimed most of the headlines in the wake of last Sunday's stunning 5-1 derby demolition of Sunderland. However, Barton, as he has been so often so far this season, was at the heart of most of what was good about the Magpies, and went about his business with a smile, rather than a snarl on his face. Manager Chris Hughton said: "Joey is playing and he is playing well, and there is nothing players like more than that. "People can say whatever they want to say about money and cars and all of these things - what players want more than anything is to be playing and playing well, and Joey is doing both." The current season is Barton's fourth on Tyneside since he made his £5.8million switch from City after effectively being shown the door in the wake of his training ground bust-up with Ousmane Dabo. It has been far from plain sailing since with injuries, a furious bust-up with temporary boss Alan Shearer and, infamously, a spell in prison for assault, having seen him plumb the depths. But having confronted his demons and worked hard to address them, he has slowly, but surely edged his way back to the point where it is his football and nothing else which is worthy of note. Hughton said: "I am really pleased for Joey because all he has done is he has put his head down and worked. "What we always knew about Joey is that he has quality. Over the last few years, for whatever reason, he has missed games. "He has had a couple of quite big injuries which have kept him out for a period of time as well. "But we know that if you can get Joey on the football pitch, he is a good footballer. "He is having a really consistent period at the moment, touch wood, with no injuries. "He has been a really big player for us this season." Barton and whichever of his colleagues get the nod at the Emirates will have to be every inch as good, and arguably better than they were against the Black Cats if they are to head back north with anything to show for their efforts. He was used only as a substitute in the 4-0 Carling Cup defeat by the Gunners at St James' Park on October 27 as Hughton rested nine of his key men ahead of the derby. However, Arsene Wenger made the same number of changes and Newcastle know they will have to be at their best just to keep Arsenal at bay. Hughton said: "It's about making sure we go to the Emirates with no fear. "It always has to be a tactical game against Arsenal because of the quality they have, and you know on a bad day, they are able to score goals at will. "You know what you have to do is try to nullify the qualities they have, but you have to be a threat yourselves."
