The Mikel Arteta praise Newcastle United fans will love following 2-0 win over Arsenal

A second half own goal from Ben White put Newcastle in front before Bruno Guimaraes confirmed a 2-0 victory for The Magpies at St James’s Park.

For Arsenal, back to back defeats have put a serious dent in their top four aspirations going into the final game of the season.

Following the match, Arteta told BBC Sport: "Incredibly disappointed. The way we started to the finish, Newcastle were better.

"They deserved to win by a mile. It's a really difficult one to accept.

"We have to cope with those nights [including the defeat by Tottenham Hotspur] and we didn't cope with those nights.

"We haven't been able to deal with situations throughout the season. The squad suffered a lot with injuries but that can't be an excuse. Newcastle were 100 times better than us.

"The way we competed today [was disappointing]. In every department you have to earn the right to play and we didn't do it.

"We have to put our head down and accept the performance was nowhere near the standard required for the Champions League.

"From tomorrow we'll prepare for Everton. It's still mathematically possible."

Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka echoed his manager’s comments on Sky Sports: "It's difficult to find the right words. From the first minute to the 90th we didn't deserve to be on the pitch.

"We looked like we were in the position where Newcastle are and they were where we are."

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