Mikel Arteta responds to claims Arsenal are missing striker like Alexander Isak after Newcastle defeat

Mikel Arteta rejected the suggestion that Arsenal are missing an out-and-out centre-forward in the mold of Alexander Isak after his side slumped to a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle this afternoon.

Isak outjumped Gabriel Magalhaes and beat David Raya with a powerful header to open the scoring in the 14th minute of the contest and visitors Arsenal simply had no answer at St James’ Park.

Managing just one shot on target across the entire 90 minutes, the Gunners never really looked like troubling Nick Pope in the Newcastle goal and the result means Mikel Arteta’s men have dropped points in each of their last three Premier League games.

Newcastle moved up to ninth in the table with the victory while Arsenal missed out on the chance to close the gap on top-of-the-table Manchester City, who face Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium this afternoon.

The north London giants will look to return to winning ways away to Inter Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday night before an eagerly anticipated match-up against bitter rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge next weekend.

‘We started the game really well. We were on top of it, we looked sharp, we looked alive,’ Arsenal head coach Arteta told reporters at his post-match press conference.

‘Then in one action, direct play, second ball, they are really good and they put the ball wide. It was an unbelievable cross and finish.

‘After that, momentum changes, energy shifts and you know the game they want to play, it’s clear.

‘You get, too often, dragged into that kind of game and we weren’t good enough, didn’t have enough answers to get out of that, especially creating the threat that we needed.

‘At the end, you are relying on two or three big chances that we had with Mikel [Merino], two with Declan [Rice] and one with Gabi but not enough threat to say we could win the game so that’s the frustrating part.

‘Credit to them as well for what they do.’

Arteta hopes his players are able to regroup quickly and ‘react’ to the disappointing setback with a strong performance at the San Siro in midweek.

‘It’s about how we react. We know we’re not going to find the right answers or words right now to describe how we feel,’ he added.

‘We certainly have to put it onto the field on Wednesday night against Inter.

‘It’s not about hoping to win the title, it’s about being our best version every single week and today, certainly, we weren’t our best version.’

Newcastle’s match-winner Isak has been heavily linked with Arsenal for some time but the Gunners have kept faith with Kai Havertz in the false No.9 role this season.

Asked whether his squad lacks a recognised centre-forward like Isak, Arteta replied: ‘I don’t know. I love my players and I wouldn’t change them for anybody else.’

Arsenal have undoubtedly missed Martin Odegaard’s creativity in the middle of the park, with the Norwegian sidelined for the club’s last 12 matches in all competitions due to an ankle injury.

‘We can discuss that all day long. At the moment we haven’t had him, we haven’t had him for the last six weeks and we don’t have him yet,’ Arteta went on.

‘But we have many other answers that may be very effective.

‘Today, we need to look at ourselves, congratulate Newcastle and move on.’

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