Mikel Arteta has heaped praise on Newcastle United after his own side crumbled at St James' Park. Full credit must go to the Magpies but Arsenal were simply feeble in their attempt to seal Champions League football. However, Arteta was honest enough to admit it after the game.
He 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 and we were poor with the ball.
"A lot of things happened during the game, like substitutions for injuries, but it's not an excuse because they were much better than us. It's true that we could not cope with the game that we had to play here. We tried to change some things but it didn't make it better. We had moments where we looked better but then the execution was so poor and the goals we gave away were extremely poor."
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Reflecting further on the game, Arteta said: "It's extremely disappointing that Newcastle were 10 times better than us and 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. It's a 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 tiny chance in football."
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