(Football news) Arsenal’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League were dealt a major blow as the Gunners lost 2-0 to Newcastle United at St. James’ Park. Mikel Arteta’s team were on course for their first Champions League campaign since the 2016/17 season if they would have won their remaining two Premier League games but their fate lies in arch-rivals Tottenham’s hands now who are fourth, two points ahead of Arsenal.

An own goal by Ben White in the 55th minute and a late strike by Bruno Guimaraes sealed the three points for the Magpies who moved up to 12th place in the league table. The result means that Arsenal need to defeat Everton on the final day of the season and hope that Tottenham lose to bottom place Norwich City for a chance to finish in the top 4. Chelsea are now guaranteed to finish in the top 4 after Arsenal’s result with the Blues qualifying for the Champions League for the sixth season in a row. 

It’s a sad state of affairs for Arsenal as they were four points ahead of Spurs with just three matches to play and faced an opponent who they have defeated seven consecutive times without conceding a goal. However, the Magpies outclassed the visitors right from kick off and seemed like the side most likely to score with Allan Saint-Maximin testing Aaron Ramsdale at the near post. Newcastle ended the first half with two-thirds of the possession, eight corners and having won 87.5% of their tackles. 

Ahead of kickoff, the Gunners were boosted by the return of Ben White and Gabriel, who were fit to feature in the starting XI. However, there was a stark contrast between Arsenal’s performance compared to Newcastle, as the Magpies were full of energy and enterprise while the Gunners were sluggish and nervous. Callum Wilson appeared to give Newcastle the lead in the 56th minute when a low cross by Joelinton went into the back of the net. On closer inspection, it was Ben White who had the final touch as the centre back’s touch went past Ramsdale’s near post and into the back of the net.

With the situation becoming increasingly dire for Arsenal, the Gunners upped the tempo but Newcastle looked the more threatening side with Wilson coming close to scoring multiple times. He played a crucial role in the build-up to Newcastle’s second goal as it was his shot which was saved by Ramsdale but Bruno Guimaraes capitalised on the loose ball score into an empty net. The Magpies managed to get a memorable result in their final home game of the season while Arsenal risk losing out on Champions League football for the sixth consecutive season.

Speaking after the match, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said “It was a really difficult night to swallow. Newcastle deserved to win the match comfortably. They were much better than us from the beginning to the last minute. We had nothing in the game. They were much better in every department. We were poor with the ball. A lot of things happened during the night, with the substitutions we had to make through injuries, but it's not an excuse. Newcastle deserved to win the match. I'm extremely disappointed. That Newcastle were 10 times better than us and fully deserved the match. The performance was nowhere near the level if we want to play in the Champions League." 

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