Mikel Arteta admits Arsenal were not good enough as Newcastle United knocked them out of the Carabao Cup last night.
It was a chance for the Gunners to progress further in the competition and take a step closer to securing the first trophy of the season. However, that never happened, as Newcastle claimed a deserved 2-0 victory, eliminating Arsenal with a 4-0 aggregate score. The Magpies were the better side over both legs, and Arsenal simply could not find a way to respond.
Arsenal did not seem to learn their lessons from the first leg and once again struggled to cope with the host’s attacking players. Newcastle’s forwards posed significant problems throughout the game, and Arsenal’s defenders found it difficult to contain their pace and movement. At the other end, the Gunners failed to break down a well-organised Newcastle defence, finding themselves frustrated whenever they pushed forward in search of a goal.
There was an expectation that Arsenal would show improvement and fight back after their first-leg disappointment. However, did they improve? Probably not, and Arteta himself acknowledges that his team fell short of expectations.
He said to Sky Sports:
“The margins are so small, and you need to be, on the day, very efficient. Those are the margins that take you close to winning trophies, and today, we weren’t.
“We have to digest this one. It is painful, and tomorrow will be a different day.”
It was undoubtedly a poor performance from the team, and such displays will not bring success. Arsenal must now turn their focus to the Premier League and Champions League, where they still have opportunities to win silverware this season. If they are serious about competing for major honours, they cannot afford many more nights like this. Improvements are necessary, and Arteta will need to ensure his squad bounces back quickly from this disappointment.
ADMIN COMMENT
So here are some simple rules which I must insist commenters follow….
You agree not to give any personal abuse to other Arsenal fans. Everyone is allowed to hold their own opinions even if you disagree with them. It COSTS NOTHING TO BE POLITE TO OTHER ARSENAL FANS.
What lessons have we learned that we didn’t already know?
Our raza thin squad cannot compete on all fronts
Rinse and repeat tactics will often yield the same results. Underwhelming from the players and the manager, Newcastle looking like our new boogey team, and is Howe getting over on Arteta?
I was not disappointed with the loss, we were unlikely to advance being 2-0 down.
I was disappointed by the tactics and approach to the match. It seemed that we did not learn from our previous match with Newcastle, and in fact is the 3rd time this year Newcastle got over on us.
Nevermind the possession stats, because Newcastle was happy giving us the ball and conceding possession for parts of the match.
Arsenal have won 1 trophy out of 21 attempts
in all competitions under Arteta, which will soon be 23 attempts at the end of the season.
Does anyone still believe in the mantra, in Arteta we trust. 🙄🤦♂️🤷♂️
Whether any supporter believes in the mantra, is unimportant as long as the Kroenke’s like him – that is, he brings in the revenue by being in the top 4 of PL and being in the CL, with the ground full of paying punters. Moans of not winning trophies won’t change anything.
However drop out of top 4 along with supporters discontent and Arteta will be toast
Mark Bantam,
I know its a bad thing to say, and I’ll probably get slaughtered for saying this.
But If finishing outside the top 4, is the only way to get rid of this joke of a manger, then here’s hoping. 🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞
Finally, a ray of sunshine – Arteta admitting we weren’t good enough.
After close to 6 years in charge, north of 750M spent, this squad – 100% owned by Arteta – is still fragile, weak and clearly couldn’t cut it against Newcastle over two legs.
So what’s next Arteta? Another 5 years in charge? Another 700M down the drain? Another 5 years without a major trophy?
I’m starting to worry about about the future of our young stars especially Saka and Saliba. Can we keep them?
Arteta has reached his limit.
Agree 100%