AFP via Getty Images
Newcastle United’s quest for Champions League football will head into the final weekend of the season following their 1-0 defeat against Arsenal.
A Declan Rice strike was enough for Arsenal to seal all three points on a disappointing day for Eddie Howe’s side in north London. David Raya’s first-half heroics kept out a host of chances from the visitors as the Gunners made their second half dominance pay to inflict a potentially damaging defeat on their visitors.
Newcastle, for their part, had a decent first half but were slow to come out the blocks in the second and were punished for their profligacy in front of goal. Whilst the thousands of loyal fans present at the Emirates Stadium will head home disappointed that their side were unable to secure Champions League football, their destiny remains in their own hands and a win against Everton on the final day of the season will ensure they finish in the top five of the league.
Eddie Howe’s Champions League message
Despite seeing his team fall to a narrow defeat, Howe remained upbeat about Newcastle United’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League. The Carabao Cup win will mean this season will always be one of the most memorable in Newcastle’s history, but sealing a top five finish would ensure that the campaign’s end doesn’t fall a little flat.
90 minutes at St James’ Park stands in their way of making sure that doesn’t happen and Howe is confident his team can get over the line: “I think that's where you want to be,” United’s head coach told Sky Sports.
“You want it to be in your own hands, as you say, and we back ourselves at home, we back ourselves under pressure, but it will be, all the build-up to the game will be big, and we have to detach ourselves from it, and just focus on how we need to play.
“I'm sure the players will. I think the performance today was strong, and I think we have to take that confidence into the next game.”
Losing 1-0 to the Gunners, the first time in four attempts that Mikel Arteta’s side had been able to get a victory over them this season, means Arsenal have all-but guaranteed a second place finish. Newcastle can still finish third, but that will require Manchester City to drop points against Bournemouth on Tuesday night and then a goal difference swing in Newcastle’s favour on the final day of the season.
Howe, though, believes his side can take heart from their performance in north London: “I think when you're away from home, you have moments like that in games where suddenly you can lose control, the crowd can get to the game, and suddenly whatever solidity you have can sometimes go.
“I think we've been really good recently at just riding that storm. It felt like we were going to, and it took a very special finish from Declan Rice to actually break us down.
“It wasn't necessarily creating huge chances, it was more the feeling of pressure. I think if we could have withstood that, we would have come back into the game anyway, but unfortunately it wasn't so.”
Continue Reading