Mikel Arteta had no complaints about his side's defeat at Newcastle but refused to admit the title race is all but over.

“I'm very frustrated, we deserved to lose today,” Arsenal's coach said after Alexander Isak's superb first-half header gave Eddie Howe's side their first win in six Premier League games. “We got sucked into the game Newcastle wanted rather than the one we wanted. But you have to give your best in every game to have a chance of winning.”

Not that Arteta has given up hope of overtaking Liverpool and Manchester City at the top of the table. His team is seven points behind the lead. “After ten games we won’t find an answer now,” he said. “It's not about winning the title, it's about being our best version every week. We have to sort it out on Wednesday.”

If Arsenal's upcoming Champions League game against Internazionale at San Siro provides an interesting litmus test of the team's resilience, Arteta will once again be without key midfielder Martin Ødegaard, who is injured. “We don’t have it,” he said bluntly. “We can debate this all day, but we have many other answers that are very effective.”

These alternatives failed against a Newcastle team that even Arteta, who has rarely seen Howe at eye level, seemed reluctant to admire here. “They’re really good at what they do,” he said. “They drag you into the type of game they want. They’re all tall and very physical, especially Joelinton.”

Asked if he needed an Isak, Arteta demurred, insisting: “No, I love my players and wouldn't trade them for anyone.”

The Swedish striker, who has long been rumored to be on Arsenal's shopping list, was only thinking about Newcastle. He described the win as “kind of a statement for us and the fans” and said: “We've had a bad patch but hopefully this can be a bit of an icebreaker for us.”

Howe was similarly optimistic. “After the win over Chelsea (in the Carabao Cup) last Wednesday, the pressure eased a bit but we had to be really strong mentally,” he said. “Today 95 minutes of concentration and consistency were required. We controlled and managed some very good Arsenal players quite well. We looked good. It's only three points, but it means so much. We hadn't won in the Premier League for a while. I'm sure it will do us a lot of good. But now we need to make sure this is not an isolated moment.”