Newcastle, May 17 (BNA) Midfielder Granit Xhaka said in a wonderful rebuke to his Newcastle teammates that Arsenal’s defeat against Newcastle United on Monday was a disaster and his players did not deserve to be on the field.
Arsenal were chasing Champions League qualification, sitting two points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur (68), but finished second in their 2-0 loss at St James’ Park, Reuters reported.
The hosts dominated the match and scored two goals in the second half, first through Ben White’s own goal, and then Bruno Guimarães’ goal after blocking Arsenal’s defense.
Xhaka did not hold back from what he believed in his team’s performance, which left them hoping for a miracle on the final day to avoid the sixth consecutive season of elite competition in Europe.
“It’s hard to find the right words,” the Swiss told Sky Sports. “From the first minute to the 90th minute, we didn’t deserve to be on the field.”
“I can’t explain to you why. We didn’t do what the match plan was, we didn’t listen to the coach. What happened was a disastrous performance. You don’t deserve to play the Champions League or even the Europa League. It’s very cool. It’s hard to take him in.” present time.
“I don’t know why we don’t do what the coach tells us to do.”
The 29-year-old, who had a turbulent time at Arsenal after being stripped of the captaincy in 2019, denied that the lack of experience in Mikel Arteta’s squad was an issue.
“If someone is not ready for this game, stay home. It doesn’t matter your age. If you are nervous, stay on the bench or stay at home. You need people to have the balls to come here and play it’s one of the most important matches,” he said. For us. We are very disappointed for the people who came here.”
“Sorry to them (the fans), I have no other words. The dressing room is very quiet. The game plan was very different from what we did over the course of the 90 minutes.”
“We have been waiting six years (to play in the Champions League). We had everything in our hands.”
Arteta hosts Everton, who are battling relegation, for their last game of the season on Sunday.
The only realistic way Arsenal could snatch last place in the Champions League away from their north London rival is if Spurs were beaten by already relegated Norwich City on Sunday and Arteta’s side beat Everton, with Spurs enjoying a much better goal difference.
Spaniard Arteta told the BBC: “Newcastle was a hundred times better than us… In every division you have to earn the right to play and we didn’t.”
“We have to let our heads down and accept that the performance was not even close to the level required for the Champions League.
“From tomorrow we will prepare for Everton. It is still sportingly possible.”