After seeing his side taste defeat at St James’ Park, Mikel Arteta fielded questions from journalists on Tyneside following our 1-0 loss.
He was asked about recent performances, our current position in the table, individual performances and much more.
Here is everything he had to say:
on the frustrating result:
We started the game really well. I think we were on top of it, we looked sharp, we looked alive and then in one action, direct play, second ball which they are really good at. They put the ball in behind with an unbelievable cross and finish. After that, momentum changes, the energy shifts, they know how they want to play and it’s clear and then you get two options in that kind of game.
We weren’t good enough and didn’t have enough answers to get out of that, especially creating the threat that we needed, so at the end, you are reliant on two or three big chances that we had with Mikel, two with Declan and one with Gabi. Not enough threat to change the game in any moment and win it. That’s the frustrating part, but credit to them as well for what they did.
on the feeling around league standings:
I understand that the last eight, nine, 10 games last year we didn’t talk about it, and we’re not going to talk about it now. It’s about how we react. We’re not going to find the right answers or words right now to describe, but how we feel, we certainly have to put it out on that field on Wednesday night against Inter.
on the players heading out onto the pitch early after half-time:
No, it wasn’t done on purpose. We did what we normally do and they left early, because they decided to do so.
