NEWCASTLE: Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was disheartened with how his team performed in a 1-0 loss to Newcastle on Saturday in a potential blow to their Premier League title chase, saying they were sucked into playing Newcastle's style of game.
Alexander Isak headed home in the 12th minute in Newcastle's first win in six league games, leaving Arsenal provisionally third in the Premier League table behind Manchester City and Liverpool, who were both playing later on Saturday.
Arteta's side generated few chances on an afternoon that marked the first time since May 2022 that they had lost two consecutive away league matches. They were shocked 2-0 by Bournemouth on Oct. 19.
"We deserved to lose today," Arteta told Premier League Productions. "I thought we started really well and were really dominant. We didn't defend the box well enough. Credit to them. They scored a great goal with a good ball.
"Then the game changes and you start to play a different game. You have to adapt and we didn't do that well enough. I am very frustrated.
"We got dragged into a game they are looking for constantly and we couldn't play the game that we wanted."
Newcastle defender Lewis Hall threw his body in front of Arsenal's lone shot on target, blocking Mikel Merino's volley from close range in the first half. Declan Rice squandered a terrific chance in injury time, latching on to a cross but firing it wide of the net.
"We had two big chances – Mikel had a big one, Declan had a big one. We lacked answers," Arteta said.
His squad are winless in their last three Premier League matches.
"We can say whatever we want. We will struggle to find the words today. We have to show it on the pitch on Wednesday night (against Inter Milan in a Champions League match).
"You have to be at your best every time to give yourself a chance to win." - REUTERS