Although it's not specifically about the 2016-17 season (when Gayle scored 23 goals), the video below is a good summary of how Benitez likes to play at Newcastle, so it's not unreasonable to assume the 2016-17 season was approached in the same way. Gayle is mentioned in it, although he wasn't first choice in the Premiership of course.
Benitez favours a 4-2-3-1 formation, with an emphasis on playing through balls and having wide players stretching the defence. Unfortunately for Albion, recent seasons have seen us forget what a through ball actually is, so hopefully we can find out again!
Benitez's style of play also relies on the 2 holding midfielders being very mobile, which brings into further question Brunt playing there is we're going to try to play fully to Gayle's strengths. Watch the video and see if you think we can learn anything from it.
Video:
Benitez's tactics explained