Arsenal’s hopes of appearing in the Champions League next season have been drastically dented after their shock 2-0 defeat to Newcastle on Monday night.
Arsenal lost 3-0 in the north London derby last time out and watched their London rivals outrun them with a home win over Burnley this weekend, they knew they needed to win to keep their hopes of playing in the Champions League. next season.
This did not happen although two goals in the second half – an own goal and one from Guimaraes – ruled another defeat on the road.
Newcastle enjoyed a great deal of possession in the first half, creating a number of clear chances.
Joelinton and Alain Saint-Maximin were particularly active, causing all sorts of problems for Arsenal’s defence.
The obvious first opportunity came after 18 minutes, and it was no surprise that it fell to the hosts. Sean Longstaff tried his luck from a distance, but was cleverly intercepted by Aaron Ramsdale.
Magpies kept pushing and could easily have taken the lead in the 36th minute when Alain Saint-Maximin got some space and fired a powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area after a superb individual effort.
The ball went towards the lower left corner, but Ramsdale made a decisive save as the Gunners got a corner kick.
Despite their efforts, the hosts were unable to achieve a breakthrough as the first half continued without goals.
The hosts picked the second half from where they left off, and Arsenal were stuck deep in their own half for long stretches.
The breakthrough finally arrived in the 56th minute when Ben White suffered a great deal of misfortune as he accidentally made a pass from the wing into his net.
Then Newcastle lost a great opportunity after the hour mark when Callum Wilson got a chance inside the penalty area, but his attempt for the ball narrowly passed over the bar.
Wilson again found an opportunity 15 minutes before the end of the game when he got a great pass into the penalty area and found himself in a chance to score goals, but this effort was stopped by one of the defending players.
Newcastle came close to scoring 2-0 when Wilson fired an ambitious long-range shot after spotting Ramsdale off his line, but the ball somehow hit the ball.
Bruno Guimarães then took the win five minutes before the end of time after he responded faster to collect a rebound and stabbed the ball into the net.
The loss means that Arsenal will have to beat Everton at home in its last match and hope that Tottenham lose or draw away to Norwich City, first-class descendants.
