Mikel Arteta's Arsenal side were beaten 1-0 by Newcastle United in the early kick-off at St James' Park on Saturday.

It was another brilliant performance from Eddie Howe's side, who went into this game having beaten Chelsea 2-0 in the Carabao Cup in their previous game.

The Magpies have had a difficult season so far, but the last two games have shown that they can turn things around and gain promotion in the Premier League in the next few weeks.

Alexander Isak's first half goal, brilliantly assisted by Anthony Gordon, was the difference between the two teams.

The Gunners failed to make the most of their possession and Newcastle United kept them quiet with their confident defensive performance.

Arteta was particularly impressed by one Newcastle United player, whose physical display earned the Spaniard's praise.

After the game, Arteta praised Newcastle United's Joelinton.

“They are all big and very physical, Joelinton in particular was the one he (Thomas Partey) had to deal with, especially because he played right on his side.” he said, as quoted on the official Arsenal website.

It was another poor result for the Gunners, who suffered a defeat against Bournemouth and a draw against Liverpool in their last few games.

Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta is going through a difficult phase

The defeat at St. James' Park leaves the Gunners seven points behind league leaders Liverpool.

It was the perfect weekend for Arne Slot's side as Arsenal and Manchester City lost their games while they won their games with a comeback win against Brighton at Anfield.

Arteta's comments about Joelinton's physicality show that the Spanish coach expects something similar from his team, but he failed to achieve that against a strong Newcastle side.

The Magpies needed this win against the Gunners to change the mood around the club and this win could be just the result they were looking for to apply more pressure and turn their season around.