Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta has slammed the Gunners performance in their Monday night 2-0 loss to Newcastle United in Saint James Park, blowing a slim advantage in the race for a top-four finish.
A Ben White own-goal and a Bruno Guimaraes strike sealed the Gunners’ poor performance, with Arteta describing the loss as a painful one.
The Gunners needed a win at St James’ Park on Monday to move back above fierce rivals Tottenham into fourth place heading into the final day of the Premier League season.
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The defeat sees Arsenal sit in 5th spot with 66 points, while bitter North-London rivals Spurs sit in 4th with 68 points.
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Speaking in a post-match interview, Arteta said, “Newcastle deserved to win the match and were much better than us. We had nothing in the game.
“They were much better in every department: in the duels, with second balls. We were poor with the ball and didn’t defend as we have to do.
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“A lot of things happened during the night, with substitutions due to injuries, but it’s not an excuse, Newcastle deserved to win the match because they were much better than us from the beginning. They were much better than us in everything that a football match requires to be on top of it.”
Arteta says such an insipid display was hard to take.
“It’s true that we could not cope with the game that we had to play here. We tried to change some things and it didn’t make it better,” the Spaniard added.
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“We had moments where we looked better at the start of the second half, we understood better what we had to do but then the execution was so poor and the goals we gave away were extremely poor.
“It’s extremely disappointing that Newcastle were 10 times better than us and fully deserved the match. The performance was nowhere near the level we need to be at if we want to play in the Champions League.
“I am incredibly disappointed. The team we have at the moment there are question marks in a lot positions because of the injuries and suspensions that we had but it’s no excuse. We were not at the races today. It’s a really very painful one.
“It was in our hands and today it’s not in our hands. We have to beat Everton and wait for Norwich to beat Spurs. There’s always a chance in football and you have to be there just in case that chance appears.“
