Arteta explains why Arsenal players won’t be affected by last year’s loss to Newcastle

Arteta says Arsenal players won’t be affected by last year’s loss to Newcastle

Mikel Arteta was asked how important it was to forget the disappointment of facing Newcastle at the end of last season before Arsenal faced them on Sunday.
The boss said things have since changed:

Mikel Arteta says Arsenal won’t take anything from last year’s defeat to Newcastle as a motivational tool, but that could be a mistake.
“It’s a completely different game. It was a year ago with different players, a different game, but we have to play a lot better than last year, that’s for sure.
“We know it will be a very tough game because they were really good, especially at home.”

Mikel Arteta was responsible for Arsenal’s rise to a team ready to compete in the Premier League title race and it was achieved through shrewd team building, training and strict principles – but the Spaniard is not without flaws. A few have appeared in games where the Gunners have seen falling points, and the next challenge his side face is reopening old wounds.

After what many would have described as an overshoot had Arsenal finished in the top four last season, the club were denied a chance to qualify for the Champions League in the very game they play on Sunday. Losing 2-0 to Newcastle with a lackluster performance in May last season condemned the Gunners to fifth place.
Should Arsenal lose or even lose points in the renewed duel with the Magpies this weekend, chances are that any glimmer of title hope will be extinguished. Mikel Arteta spoke before the game and when asked after last season’s disappointment if that would serve as motivation, he dismissed it. “I don’t think so,” he said. “From there, there’s not much to motivate, there’s a lot of things we need to do a lot better than what we did on the day.
“It’s also a different group of players and where we are today is very different from that group.”

I do not agree. I think there’s every reason to use this game as extra motivation to understand exactly what this ruthless Newcastle United side are all about.

Whether or not they have something to play for, which they didn’t in 2022, they will be keen to demonstrate their status as a team planning to overtake this Arsenal team in the near future. Eddie Howe took them from relegation fighters to neighbors to Champions League rivals in no time.
A year ago, Arsenal were injured and without key players and the same can be said about this weekend. William Saliba is injured and Gabriel Magalhaes is a doubt for the match for the second consecutive year.

Arsenal have a new opponent who wants to challenge them for their goals and hurt their chances of reaching them, just like last season. Arteta’s team reacted brilliantly to the disappointment with last season’s finale that this team gave them. They are definitely the team that can be the catalyst for Arsenal to have a strong finish to the season, keeping alive hopes for a title challenge and looking to finish the season as strongly as possible. Some bookies have the home team slightly favored and the Gunners need to prove why this is a mistake.
Maybe Arteta wanted to take the emotion out of the game with his response. Perhaps what is being said behind closed doors, away from the media and eavesdropping supporters, is different.

It wouldn’t be the first time Arteta has said something in public, then something else happens. Either way, that bad memory from last season needs to be forgotten, not revived, and so it’s up to Arsenal to do the job.

Do you feel that Arsenal will have a good outing as they face Newcastle? Leave your comments…