Speaking after our 0-0 draw against Arsenal, Eddie Howe praised our ‘rock solid’ defence and the ‘great mentality’ of the players as we became the first Premier League side to leave the Emirates with a point this season.
The Toon secured their 10th clean sheet of 2022/23 – the most in the division – in a brilliant defensive display against the league leaders.
The game had an edge to it – nine yellow cards were dished out – and tensions boiled over on the sidelines when Arteta and Howe clashed following a late penalty appeal, but the boss insists he and the Spaniard are “fine.”
We are still sitting in third after claiming the point, but Howe offered a ‘very boring’ response to whether or not Newcastle are in the title race, stating that we are just trying to be our best on a ‘continued basis’.
Here’s some of the best bits from Howe’s post-match interview…
Eddie Howe on the performance: “I think it was a very, very good defensive display, and great mentality from the group. You saw good teamwork, and a collective effort. I think Arsenal are very good, & pose different problems, so we knew defensively we needed to be rock solid.”
Howe on his late confrontation with Arteta: “At that stage of the game you’re thinking ‘god no, the lads have given so much’ and that would have been a travesty for us. I didn’t think it was a penalty. I’m delighted and me and Mikel are fine.”
Howe when asked if Newcastle are in the title race: “Very boring response from me. There’s no race from our perspective, it’s just about being the best team that we can be on a continued basis. We need to improve, we’re working hard to do that every day and that is our main goal.”
See a snippet from his Sky Sports interview below:
It makes a change to be talking about a potential title race rather than a relegation battle at the turn of the year, but there’s still a long way for this team to go in this exciting season.
If the truth be told, it would be an incredible result if we maintained our place in the top four!
