Benitez proud as Toon slip to defeat

Rafa Benitez admits Arsenal were the better side but says he was proud of his Newcastle players following last night’s 2-0 defeat.

An Arsenal win was never really in doubt against the lowly Magpies once midfielder Aaron Ramsey stroked them ahead with a nice finish on the half-hour.

The game was not won, however, until the 83rd minute when Alexandre Lacazette finished Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s flick-on with a brilliant lob.

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The defeat means Newcastle remain seven points clear of the bottom three, but Benitez was not too downbeat after the game. “I am disappointed because we knew it would be difficult, we knew we could lose,” he said. “But if we concede the first goal the way we concede the first goal was not ideal and if you don’t take your chances and you are not precise against these teams then you’ll struggle. “I am proud of the players because they are trying hard.

Today there was a big difference between the teams, but we were close enough to be a threat. “When it was 1-0 we were pushing and you could feel the nerves in the stadium.”