Howe admits Newcastle fell short in Arsenal defeat

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe conceded that her team was below their best when they fell 2-1 at home against Arsenal.

The Magpies had taken the lead in the 34th minute thanks to the head of Nick Woltemade, against the game race, and Nick Pope produced a chain of beautiful stops to keep Arsenal at a distance.

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But the visitors broke late, with Mikel Merino equalizing in the 84th minute before Gabriel Magalhães deeply strikes in the time to stop the three points.

The victory ended the bad race from Arsenal to St James’ Park, after losing their last three visits there

“We gave everything, but we were not our best”

Addressing Sky Sports after the match, Howe welcomed his team’s efforts, but admitted that the performance was missing.

“I thought we tried. We gave everything to the game. It was really physical,” he said.

Newcastle manager was honest in his assessment of how the match took place.

“I don’t think we were our best today, being honest. Arsenal played very well, ”admitted Howe.

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Howe points out of missed chances and late reverse

Despite the management of a large part of the game, Howe said that his team could not fully benefit from the opportunities they created.

“We had our chances in the match and we took the lead and we were desperate to try to cling to this advance,” he said.

He distinguished goalkeeper Nick Pope for keeping Newcastle in the running with key interventions.

“Nick (Pope) made good jumps for us, but that was not the case, and we conceded sets at the end. It was so disappointing,” added Howe.

The difficult start -up of Newcastle continues

The defeat leaves Newcastle 15th in the Premier League table with a single victory of its first six games.

They will now turn their attention to Europe, where they will face a crucial trip to Belgium to meet Union Saint-Gilloie in the Champions League.