Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal, reacts after a penalty call against Newcastle United was overturned following a VAR decision during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St James' Park on September 28, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)placeholder image
Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal, reacts after a penalty call against Newcastle United was overturned following a VAR decision during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St James' Park on September 28, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Newcastle United have come in for big praise from Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.
The Magpies hosted the La Liga giants in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie and came within seconds of taking a 1-0 lead into the second leg.
Harvey Barnes gave United the lead in the 86th minute but Lamine Yamal equalised with the last kick of the game after Malick Thiaw conceded a penalty for a challenge on Dani Olmo.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta praises Newcastle United
And Arteta has used Newcastle’s performance to defend his side’s playing style, as the Gunners look to do whatever it takes to win their first Premier League title since 2003.
Asked if style of play matters at this stage of the season, Arteta replied: “It's playing the best football that you possibly can and the game demands to give you the best possibility to win the game and that's it.
“I realised what's happening in the Premier League the other day with a really important factor.”
The Spaniard then referenced Newcastle’s display versus Barcelona as he praised Eddie Howe’s side for competing against what he describes as the “most exciting team in Europe”.
“I was watching the Champions League game between Newcastle and Barcelona,” Arteta continued,
“For me, Barcelona are the most exciting team in Europe in many moments the way they play, and they face one of the Premier League teams, Newcastle, who are exceptional in their intensity and the high pressure, everything man-to-man, a huge amount of tools, a really good team in transition and we saw a completely different game I've never seen Barcelona play and that's a huge credit to Newcastle, but this is the league that we are playing in.
“Have you seen the Barcelona 1,000 passes that does it every week in Spain? No. It was a very different kind of game. Can it be beautiful? Yes. But Newcastle made that game and so well done as well and a huge credit in the way they did it.”
Eddie Howe on Newcastle United’s Champions League second-leg v Barcelona
Newcastle will have to do it all again when they visit the Camp Nou in the second leg on Wednesday evening.
The Magpies face an almighty task to progress into the Champions League quarter-finals with Barca winning all 11 games since returning to the new Camp Nou, but Howe is refusing to play down his side’s chances.
“In the cold light of day, when we wake up tomorrow, I think we'll see all the positives rather than negatives,” Howe said. “The tie is very much alive. We played really well. I think we've shown our qualities. We've been really competitive.
“As I said, the challenge for us is we need more of it on a consistent basis. That's easier said than done. But I think we've shown that we can play against the very best when we're at our best.”
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