CHEIK TIOTE has announced that he wishes to leave Newcastle United, with Arsenal expected to resume their interest in the midfielder in January.

The 28-year-old midfielder was unsettled by summer interest linking him to a move to Lokomotiv Moscow and the Emirates, and Newcastle were set to open up contract negotiations with the Ivorian before the end of the season, who has almost three years of his existing deal left to run.

However, Tiote told reporters in the Ivory Coast yesterday that his time on Tyneside was coming to an end.

“I want to leave,” he said. “I’ve spent four years with Newcastle and I think I’ve reached the stage where it’s maybe time to look elsewhere for a new challenge.

“I will focus on the upcoming games and see what happens between now and December but it is true there was contact for me in the summer from Arsenal and also from a club in Russia. I would prefer to stay in England, though.”

With Tiote keen to stay in England, and Arsenal searching for a midfielder with the same attributes as Newcastle's midfield enforcer, it would make sense for the Gunners to come back in for the former FC Twente player when the transfer window opens up on January 1.

Alan Pardew spoke before Monday's 1-0 defeat at Stoke about how important Tiote was to his team, and the beleagured manager can ill afford any kind of mutiny in the ranks while the Magpies sit in the bottom three of the Premier League.

“We obviously had a team fighting for his services, but the finance was never really in place,” said the Newcastle boss of the summer interest in Tiote. “I think the reality was that we were quite comfortable that he wasn't going to go anywhere, but I think it was a period of unsettlement for him.

"I think his contract situation needs to be resolved at the end of the season, for sure. I love him. He's everything that you want in a Newcastle player.

“He has the quality, and of course you'll never underestimate the fact that he wants to win. That's something we have to be very careful about on training days!”