What Mikel Arteta said about Newcastle United after ‘unacceptable’ Arsenal defeat

Mikel Arteta admitted that Newcastle United were “100 times better” than his Arsenal side.

The Magpies cruised to a 2-0 victory on Monday night after an own goal by Ben White and a late strike by Bruno Guimaraes.

Arteta labelled his team’s performance as “unacceptable” and also conceded that United could have won by a larger scoreline.

‘Newcastle were 100 times better’

The Spaniard said: “Really tough night. Normally I can sit here and defend (my team) but what we’ve done tonight is unacceptable.

“Newcastle were 100 times better than us in every department from the beginning until the end.

“It’s very hard to accept but that is the reality of what happened on that pitch.

“We didn’t compete, we never got into the game.

“We put ourselves in trouble time after time. We lost every duel. In every aspect of the game we were second best.

“Newcastle totally deserved to win the match, probably by a bigger margin as well.”

While Eddie Howe’s side ended their home campaign on a high in front of an electric St James’ Park crowd, Arsenal hopes of finishing in the top four are all-but over.

The Gunners must beat Everton on the final day and hope North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur suffer a shock defeat to already relegated Norwich City.

‘We could not cope’

Arteta added: “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.

“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.”