Mikel Arteta is of the opinion that Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United last season will have any impact on the encounter between both teams on Sunday.
Almost a year ago, the Gunners’ hopes of a Champions League return came to an end at St James’ Park in the final week of the campaign. The pain remains fresh but Arteta says that any emotional hangovers from that match are no longer in the players’ heads.
A lot has changed for both sides in the space of one year, with the Gunners already sealing Champions League qualification for the first time in six seasons while Newcastle now also find themselves in a position where they could finish in third place.
The circumstances surrounding both sides has made Mikel Arteta believe that it will be a different encounter this time around on Tyneside.
Arteta expects different encounter at St James Park
“It is a very different game,” he said in his pre-match press conference. “It was a year ago with different players, a different game but we’ll have to play much better than we did last year, that’s for sure.
“There is not a lot to motivate from there, there are a lot of things we have to do much better than we did on the day. It’s a different group of players as well and where we are today is very different to that group.”
Reflecting on the goalless draw in north London, he mused: “We will try to play the game that we want, and they will want to play a very different game. That was the battle when we played them at Emirates Stadium, but I think we deserved to win the game. There are things that are obviously going to be different from the last game and we’re going to have to be better to earn the right to win it.
“They are a really good side who are well coached and have really good players and the right environment around the club right now, so they are in a good place. We know that it is going to be a really tough game because especially at home they’ve been really good
“They already are third in the league right now, and they merit that position with the way they have performed and the amount of changes they have made. They have made some very intelligent decisions as well, so they deserve to be where they are.”
