Newcastle United briefing: Rafa Benitez on takeover and Jonjo Shelvey's ban, Wayne Rooney reacts to goal

Rafa Benitez's side were beaten 1-0 at St James's Park by Everton last night.

And next up are Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

To make matters worse, Benitez will be without Jonjo Shelvey, who is banned for two games after his dismissal against Everton.

Here's our daily briefing:

In the dark?

The Everton game kicked off hours after it emerged that would-be buyer Amanda Staveley had made an improved offer for Newcastle.

The proposed deal between Staveley's PCP Capital Partners and United owner Ashley would see funds made available ahead of January's transfer window.

Benitez, however, insisted that he was in the dark about the latest development.

“I don’t have any information," said Newcastle's manager.

"What I said the other day was that I need to know how much money for January as soon as possible.

“That’s it. But I don’t have any information.”

Banned

Benitez was also asked about Shelvey's dismissal.

The midfielder, recalled to the starting XI by Benitez, was shown a second yellow card in injury time for a late challenge on Idrissa Gueye.

Shelvey will be suspended for an additional game because it was his second red card of the season.

“It’s difficult, because, for the second one, I think he knew that it was a very dangerous counter-attack," said Benitez.

"It’s different to the other one. “You don’t have control in this case. It’s part of the game. We’ll miss him, but we have to manage.”

Shelvey will also miss next weekend's game against West Ham United at the London Stadium.

Strike rate

Rooney's strike was his 15th Premier League goal against Newcastle.

Not surprisingly, the former Manchester United forward always looks forward to playing at St James's Park.

"It was a tough game," said Rooney. “We’ve come here, and, although Newcastle haven’t been on a great run of form, it’s always a difficult game, especially when you’re looking to pick up three points.

“We dug in, defended really well and made the most of the chances we had.

“We’re delighted, and it’s a great win for us. I’ve scored quite a few goals here – it’s a ground I enjoy playing at."

Click on the image above to watch a slideshow of images from the Everton game