Brighton had as good as ended Arsenal's title challenge with a superb 3-0 win, but Roberto De Zerbi's mind quickly turned to his side's game against Newcastle United. As De Zerbi addressed his players in the away dressing room at the Emirates, the Brighton boss told them they could 'be happy' until Tuesday. Then they had to prepare for another 'very tough' trip to St James' Park on Thursday night.
"We have to forget everything," he reiterated to reporters. "We have to forget we played in Arsenal's stadium and we won in Arsenal's stadium. Otherwise, we will lose the game in Newcastle. 100%."
Among those who will have been watching on from afar was Eddie Howe. Such is Howe's respect for Brighton, the Newcastle United head coach won't necessarily have been surprised by the Seagulls' performance, but that ruthless second-half display was a timely reminder to his players that they will need to be at their very best on Thursday night. If they even needed reminding after escaping the Amex with a point earlier this season.
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Yet Newcastle won't go into this game with fear. This is a Brighton side, after all, who have been well-beaten by relegation-threatened Everton and Nottingham Forest in the last two-and-a-half weeks alone. It is Newcastle, not Brighton, who are in third place, knowing that five points may yet be enough to realise their Champions League dream.
However, such is the mentality of the group, they won't be thinking like that. Newcastle will simply be targeting three wins from their final three games - and why shouldn't they?
Two of the three fixtures are at St James' Park, where Newcastle have lost just twice in the last year, and the Magpies know back-to-back wins before their final day trip to Chelsea would guarantee a place in the top four. That is a situation Newcastle would have given anything to have been in at the start of the season.
Yes, there was 'disappointment' and 'frustration' in the camp after Saturday's 2-2 draw against Leeds United, but there was no overreaction afterwards. Newcastle's fate remains in their own hands and this point may yet prove one earned rather than two dropped if Howe's team get the results they need against Brighton and Leicester at St James' in the coming days.
Nick Pope has predicted a 'special' atmosphere and called on his side to 'make the most of it' while Callum Wilson told NUFC TV that returning home to that 'unreal' stadium will 'give the players a lift'. For Howe, it is all about staying 'free' and 'playing our football', which is what Newcastle have often done best at St James' under the lights.
"Every time we play at home is an opportunity to win because of the conditions, the arena, the support, the confidence," Howe told reporters. "We have done really well at home this season. We love to play there. We go into those two games with belief that we can get the job done, but it's never that easy."
These will be unique tests in their own right, but there are parallels with a similar stage of the previous campaign. Getting over the line meant something very different last April when Newcastle hit the magical 40-point mark to all but secure their Premier League status following successive wins against Leicester and Crystal Palace at St James'.
Another set of back-to-back home victories would see Newcastle clinch a return to the Champions League in their own backyard. What a prospect that is.
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