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Instant Reactions – Arsenal v Newcastle (16/12/17)

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Following today’s clash between Arsenal and Newcastle United, here are the instant reactions from both managers.

Arsenal hosted Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday December 16, with the hosts taking a one nil victory courtesy of a first half Mesut Ozil goal.

Arsenal largely dominated the affair until Newcastle rallied late on and the three points put them back into fourth place, however Newcastle slip into the relegation zone having lost eight of the last nine matches.

Teams:

Arsenal:

Cech, Bellerin, Koscielny, Monreal, Maitland-Niles, Wilshere, Xhaka, Iwobi (Welbeck 72), Ozil, Sanchez (Coquelin 89), Lacazette (Giroud 73).

Substitutes:

Ospina, Chambers, Kolasinac, Elneny.

Newcastle:

Elliot, Yedlin, Lascelles, Lejeune, Manquillo, Murphy (Gayle 67), Merino (Diame 82), Hayden, Atsu (Ritchie 54), Joselu, Perez.

Substitutes:

Clark, Dummett, Aarons, Darlow.

Speaking to the BBC’s cameras a short time after match day referee Stuart Attwell blew the final whistle, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger explained.

‘The necessity to win was playing on the mind of the players towards the end. We had three games in six days. In the last one you could suffer because Newcastle produced a physical performance. We had two away games and two draws. Against Manchester United we had a quality performance but couldn’t get the win.’

Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez in his comparative interview explained.

‘We had our chances. We were pushing and attacking. We had chances to draw. It’s a pity. We are learning. In some games we are one goal behind. The players are working hard. It’s a pity. We need to be competitive like today and keep going. We are a young team. When you’re not winning you lose confidence. We have to keep working this way.’

He added that clearly the club need to do ‘something in January’ to lift the group.

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