'Bitter': Eddie Howe laments how Newcastle United ultimately lost against Arsenal on Sunday
Newcastle United once again succumbed to a late goal against a title-chasing side to miss out on Premier League points.
Liverpool and now Arsenal have snatched late winners at St James' Park this season, despite Newcastle putting up a decent fight for most of the game.
Where Newcastle were by far the better side in the game against Liverpool, it perhaps wasn't as clear cut against Arsenal on Sunday.
Newcastle fought hard, defended brilliantly and deserved their goal, but Arsenal dominated the game, and the longer it went on, the more it looked like they'd score, which proved to be the case with goals in the 84th and 96th minute.
Eddie Howe says his players gave everything against Arsenal
Speaking after the game to NUFC TV, Eddie Howe said that it was a cruel game after his side had given everything.
"It was a cruel defeat. We gave so much to the game. Very similar to the Liverpool game, we were fully maxed out, effort, determination, spirit, commitment, all the things you need and require from the team were there.
"And then we get nothing for it and a bitter experience at the end. The beauty of football is that we have to absorb it; we have to take it. We have another game really quickly, and I think that's a really good thing for us."
There were a lot of positives in Newcastle's display
Like pretty much everybody, I was furious when Gabriel scored that late, late winner for Arsenal, not least because he should have been sent off for punching Nick Woltemade in the face, but just because it was such a poor goal to concede.
However, it didn't take long for me to calm down and reflect on the game as a whole and realise there are a lot of positives to take away from the performance.
The spirit is definitely there; we are getting more creative in the final third. We're not quite there yet, but it's coming, and as I said in the match report yesterday, someone is due for a pasting from us very soon.
