Arsenal ´don´t deserve Champions League´ – Xhaka furious after Newcastle defeat

Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka was furious after his side’s 2-0 Premier League defeat against Newcastle United, saying Mikel Arteta’s team “don’t deserve” Champions League qualification after the damaging reverse.

A Ben White own goal gave the Magpies the lead in a must-win clash for the Gunners, before Bruno Guimaraes sealed Newcastle’s victory late on, leaving Arsenal’s top-four hopes hanging by a thread.

Arsenal are now two points behind Tottenham in the standings with one match remaining, where Spurs will need to lose to Norwich City to allow the Gunners a chance to sneak back into the top four, courtesy of their inferior goal difference.

The Gunners were comprehensively outclassed in the crucial encounter, producing just 0.40 expected goals compared to Newcastle’s 1.38, and only controlling 33 per cent of the first-half possession.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the loss, Xhaka called it a “disaster performance”, accusing his team-mates of not following Arteta’s gameplan and asserting the team did not deserve European football after producing such a showing.

“So difficult to find right words after the game,” he said. “We came here to show a different game, but from the first minute until the 90th minute we didn’t deserve to be on the pitch today.

“I can’t explain why we didn’t do what the game-plan was. Not listening to the coach, [it] was a disaster performance.

“[If you] play like this you don’t deserve Champions League, don’t even deserve Europa league. Very hard to take it at the moment, I don’t know why we are not doing what the coach is asking of us.”