Arsenal suffer major setback in pursuit of Champions League football as loss to Newcastle puts race for fourth in Tottenham’s hands ahead of final day of season

Arsenal returned the initiative to Tottenham in the hunt for fourth place as they suffered a damaging 2-0 defeat at Newcastle.

The nervous Gunners struggled to gain a foothold in noisy St James’s Park with Ben White’s own goal and Bruno Guimaraes’ late strike sealing their defeat.

The stalemate was broken in the 55th minute as White turned the ball into his own net in his attempts to prevent a cross from the left from reaching Callum Wilson, who suffered a nasty tooth injury earlier in the game. match.

Mikel Arteta’s men then improved without threatening Martin Dubravka’s goal too much and victory was sealed when Guimaraes latched onto a loose ball.

The result leaves Arsenal two points behind fourth-placed Tottenham ahead of the final day of the Premier League season.

Due to a superior goal difference, Spurs effectively only need a draw at last-placed Norwich to seal their Champions League return. The result also confirms Chelsea’s place in the top four.

On a night when Arsenal needed all three points, they simply didn’t play Eddie Howe’s side more than good value for their win.

The visitors first threatened when Granit Xhaka ran up the pitch before feeding Eddie Nketiah, who cut inside from the left but saw his right-footed shot blocked at the source.

Wilson’s pace and the bite provided by Guimaraes and Joelinton in midfield was making life difficult for Arsenal, and White, back to the side after a hamstring injury, had to block a Sean Longstaff cross and the shot of Joelinton within seconds as the home side pushed for the first goal.

However, Newcastle defender Dan Burn needed to be in the right place at the right time to fend off Bukayo Saka’s 21st-minute strike after trading passes with Martin Odegaard, and the England international saw goalkeeper Martin Dubravka line up a second effort with Arsenal turning the tide.

The respite proved purely temporary as the Magpies pinned the visitors again in their own half with Allan Saint-Maximin terrorizing Takehiro Tomiyasu, overtaking the full-back to force goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale into a solid save at the 37th minute.

Tomiyasu limped off seconds later to be replaced by Cedric Soares and Arsenal came into the break unscathed.

Odegaard sent the ball into the Magpies’ penalty area after working a short corner with Cedric, but the Gunners fell behind on 55 minutes.

Saint-Maximin played Joelinton into space on the left and he ran away from Mohamed Elneny before crossing at the near post, where White could only turn the ball into his own net under extreme pressure from Wilson.

Arsenal responded by kicking in men looking for an equaliser, but Wilson sent a 63rd-minute snap just over Guimaraes’ floating cross and then saw White make a vital interception to deny it 18 minutes from time. the end.

Ramsdale had to fend off Jacob Murphy’s shot after collecting fellow substitute Ryan Fraser’s return pass after a quick break, but were relieved to see Wilson’s late effort from all 40 yards fall just wide after having sailed above his head.

The keeper dove bravely at Wilson’s feet after Sean Longstaff slid the striker in on goal with five minutes left, but the rebound fell perfectly for Guimaraes, who didn’t need a second invite to seal the points.