'Lost it': John Obi Mikel says Newcastle United man was caught in 'no-man's land' on Sunday which cost Magpies points
Newcastle United were cruelly defeated by a 96th-minute goal on Sunday when Arsenal visited St James' Park and ended their north-east hoodoo.
On the balance of play, Arsenal probably didn't deserve to get beaten, which looked to be the outcome for almost an hour following Nick Woltemade's 34th-minute headed goal.
Arsenal pressed and probed and continued to add pressure, but Newcastle held firm in no small part to some superb goalkeeping from Nick Pope.
However, on the 84th minute, that defensive wall cracked and former Magpie Mikel Merino flicked a header onto the far post and in following a corner.
John Obi Mikel says Nick Pope's decision-making was the reason for Arsenal's second goal
Deep in stoppage time, Nick Pope went from hero to villain in one mad minute after he kicked out to set up a counter-attack, but as is often the case when Pope uses his feet, the ball ended up anywhere but where he planned and Arsenal were soon back on teh attack resulting in a corner, from which Pope made another rash decision which allowed Gabriel to nod home a late winner.
Former Chelsea star John Obi Mikel spoke about Pope's mistake on his podcast, saying that it all came down to decision-making.
“Nick Pope, I thought again yesterday, was absolutely fantastic.
“But again, the second goal, mistake. Again, it comes down to decision-making. He caught the ball, and there was no need, 96 minutes, there was no need to try to set up a counter-attack.
“Lost it there, comes back, corner kick, and he didn’t try, okay, you know what? It was my mistake. Let me try to make amends for it. Comes out, no man’s land.
"I thought he was absolutely fantastic yesterday, Nick Pope. Played really, made some brilliant saves. And that’s what you call a top, top goalkeeper, making top, top saves.”
It's not the time to unleash Aaron Ramsdale just yet
It was a mistake for sure, but not one that suggests it's time to drop Pope and give Aaron Ramsdale a shot. Especially as lapses in concentration are, by his own admission, a problem for Ramsdale.
Aside from that one minute of madness, Nick Pope was outstanding all game.
It is what it is; we have to take it on the chin and move on. We've got Union Saint-Gilloise in the Champions League tomorrow, and we need to banish Sunday's demons with a win in Brussels.
