With Newcastle United safe from relegation after a strong surge away from the danger zone, Mikel Arteta's Arsenal arrived at St James' Park almost a year ago expecting to salvage their hopes of securing Champions League football under the St James' Park lights.
Instead, Eddie Howe's rampant, relentless Magpies put the final nail in the Gunners' top-four coffin as they ended their final home game of the season on a tremendous high. Arsenal not only had the outside media to face after the crushing defeat but also the intrusion of the in-house Amazon cameras ahead of an eagerly-anticipated documentary release.
It was those cameras that captured Arteta's blistering rant for rivals fans to enjoy months later. "It doesn’t matter what I say, it doesn’t matter what you say now, it is too late," Arteta blared at his downbeat Arsenal stars.
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"They were 10,000 times better than us today, in everything. We didn’t earn the right to play, we didn’t win a f***ing duel, we didn’t win a second ball, we were horrible with the f***ing ball, we had no organisation, we had nothing guys. Nothing!
‘So now [zips mouth shut], shut your mouth and eat it. We could have conceded eight goals, and when you see the chances you will cry. You will cry the way we have competed. It’s not the way we have competed, it’s that we didn’t compete at all in the game.
‘It’s f***ing embarrassing to come here and work the way we’ve done it. Embarrassing guys. What happened today is f***ing unacceptable. And if you accept something like this, you are living in a different world guys, a different world."
This weekend there are similar stakes at play. Arsenal have already secured their place in next season's Champions League, something Newcastle wish to do themselves this month, but the north London outfit are this time trying to keep their Premier League title fight alive.
Arsenal's two-point lead could be long gone come Sunday with Manchester City facing West Ham United and Leeds United before Arteta's men kick off on Tyneside. The Spaniard has watched his team stutter in recent weeks, handing Pep Guardiola's side all the ammunition they needed to close the gap at the top.
Arsenal's 3-1 win over Chelsea on Tuesday was a step in the right direction but Sunday promises to be a tough task against a Newcastle side who have won eight of their last nine games. “We don’t forget the game we had there [at St James’ Park against Newcastle United] last season. I have to be honest, they destroyed us," Arsenal's Granit Xhaka admitted this week.
Will history repeat itself with Newcastle once again ending Arsenal's dreams under the bright St James' Park floodlights?
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