Mikel Arteta praises Arsenal players following Newcastle defeat

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has praised his team for their efforts against Newcastle as controversy surrounds Anthony Gordon’s game-winning goal.

Mikel Arteta made waves with his post-match comments after Arsenal’s 1-0 loss to Newcastle that saw the unbeaten start to the Premier League campaign come to an end.

While the Gunners could have salvaged a point regardless of their thoughts on Anthony Gordon’s goal and/or the host of other things that VAR could have fixed, Arteta was proud of what his players put out on the pitch.

Now, let’s be clear: did Arsenal do enough to win the game? Probably not, but a point? You could make that case definitely.

For Arteta, all he could do in post-game was praise the efforts of his players.

"I have to praise them, it’s not in their hands it’s not in their control,” Arteta said via arsenal.com.”I have to praise the players the way they play here, and what they did and how much they limited Newcastle to what they did and how much we tried. It’s incredible. Honestly.”"

The loss sees Arsenal drop to fourth in the league table level on points with Liverpool, who drew 1-1 with Luton Town and are three points behind Manchester City and could potentially be five points behind Tottenham should it take care of Chelsea.

While the end result will undoubtedly be frustrating for Arsenal and its fans, Arteta pointed out two players to praise for their efforts against the Magpies – William Saliba and Kai Havertz.

"“So much,” Arteta said. “It’s incredible the way these guys play with 20-years, 21-years-old, the way they play here, the way they compete against this team because they are a top team. Incredible.”"

Arteta will have to pick his players up and put away those frustrations over the VAR decision as they host Sevilla in their Champions League clash midweek.

With a chance to solidify themselves at the top of Group B, the Gunners will need to put the Newcastle disappointment behind them as they will not want it to continue over into their next game.

No matter how angry or frustrated they are – take it out on Sevilla and win your next match.

Don’t let it linger.