"Architects of our own downfall" - Ian Wright annoyed by 'terrible play' involving Arsenal star in 2-0 Newcastle defeat
Arsenal's hopes of securing Champions League football ahead of next season took a massive hit yesterday as they suffered a heartbreaking 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United.
Following the setback, former Gunners forward Ian Wright has claimed that Mikel Arteta's men are responsible for their own capitulation.
Arsenal traveled to St James' Park knowing quite well that they needed a victory to return to the top four after conceding fourth spot to Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday.
However, the Gunners couldn't step up to the plate against the Magpies and were made to pay for it.
2-0 🟡 (FT)
Defeat at St. James’ Park.
⚫️ 2-0 🟡 (FT)
#NEWARS https://t.co/2tID8WcK1w
Mikel Arteta's men had a slow start to the game and were lucky not to concede in the first half.
Unfortunately, the inevitable happened shortly after the restart as Newcastle went ahead via an own goal from Ben White. Bruno Guimaraes added a second towards the end of the match to conclude another miserable outing for the Gunners.
Ian Wright was left disappointed, especially with the first goal, which he claims could've been avoided. He told Premier League Productions (via The Metro):
"When you look at the first goal it was our throw on. We're going for top four and we've got players taking foul throws! It's a foul throw! You think to yourself, 'What are you doing?'
"Off the back of that once it gets out to Cedric you can't let Saint Maximin get outside of you so easily, cut the line off, show him inside but bang they’re straight into us. It's a great cross but at the same time, that could easily have been avoided."
The Englishman further claimed that Mikel Arteta's men are the architects of their own failures, adding that they need to be more resolute to be among the league's elites.
The race for the top four is blown wide open 👀
#TOTARS https://t.co/VrduUcyAwT
He said:
"When you're going for fourth you've got to be more resolute than that, you can't make mistakes like that. Yes it's an own goal but we’ve been the architects of our own downfall it's terrible play."
What's next for Arsenal?
Although it will be a Herculean task, Arsenal still have a slim chance of securing Champions League football next season.
Their only hope will be to win their final league game against Everton this weekend and hope that Tottenham suffer a defeat against Norwich.
As it stands, the Gunners occupy the fifth spot in the Premier League table with 66 points in 37 games - two points behind Spurs, who rank fourth at the moment.
It is worth noting that Mikel Arteta's men are far behind Antonio Conte's side in terms of goal difference, with the two sides having nine and 24 goals to their names respectively.