The Magpies dominated the match and netted twice through Ben White's own goal and Bruno Guimaraes' late strike to take all three points and hand a blow to Arsenal's top four dreams.
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Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe was full of praise for his players after the 2-0 win over Arsenal on Monday night. The result helped the Magpies move to 12th spot in the Premier League standings while it was a huge blow to Arsenal’s top four hopes. At St James’ Park, Newcastle were clearly the better side on the night and took the lead through Ben white’s own goal in the 55th minute. The centre-back put the ball inside his own net while trying to cut Joelinton’s cross. And then, five minute from time, Bruno Guimarães’s strike sealed Newcastle’s win.
A big win in our final home game of the season! ✊?#NEWARS // #NUFC pic.twitter.com/mChFC6cR3r
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) May 16, 2022
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Speaking to BBC Sport, Howe said: “Big turnaround from that game [defeat at Arsenal in his first game in the dugout]. That was a really frustrating day. We left the stadium that day in a difficult moment. We knew we had a massive second half of the season. Luckily the players responded brilliantly to the challenge. This was the best performance since my arrival. The motivation was personal pride and performing in front of our supporters and leaving on a good note into the summer. We were very aggressive, good physically. It’s not an easy game, Arsenal are top quality. Credit to the players.”
The English tactician added: “We knew this was something we hadn’t achieved – getting something against the top six. In the future we’ll have to compete against these teams. We have to have confidence we can win anywhere. This will help us today. A whole host of things have helped us turn the results around – unity, team spirit and January definitely helped with quality players coming in. The mentality of the group, they were determined not to get relegated. The hardest thing for me this summer is to keep that [group spirit] intact while changing the dynamic of the group. There’s a massive connection between us and the fans. The minimum we can give them is 100% effort every time we play. That’s what they want to see. I think we’ve delivered that in the main.”
It has been a remarkable second half of the season for Newcastle. The takeover by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) in October along with the mastermind of the English tactician Howe has helped the team to turn their fortunes. Newcastle hadn’t won a single game until December, secured their first win against Leeds United on 22 January, and from then on, they remained unbeaten for seven games before losing 1-0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The Magpies have won five of their last seven games and have accumulated 46 points from 37 league matches to assure themselves of another season in England’s top flight.
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