"We didn't play how we wanted to play" - William Saliba speaks out after Arsenal's loss to Newcastle

Arsenal defender William Saliba discussed his side's performance in their 1-0 loss to Newcastle United on Saturday (November 2). The Gunners went down to Alexander Isak's 12th-minute strike at St. James' Park and never managed to come close to scoring in the tie.

While the north Londoners dominated possession (64%), they only managed to test the opposition goalkeeper Nick Pope once. Meanwhile, the Magpies took nine shots in the game, out of which four were within the frame of David Raya's goal.

Following this result, Arsenal are winless in three league matches, having drawn with Liverpool and lost to Bournemouth previously. Speaking about their latest defeat, Saliba said (via Football London):

"We are all a bit sad because we wanted to win today. Unfortunately we didn't and we didn't play the game we wanted to play. We deserved to lose today I think.

"I think we didn't play how we wanted to play and they were good as well. It's OK, we are focused on the next week and it is not finished."

The Gunners are sitting fifth in the English top-flight standings at the moment and were five points behind leaders Manchester City before the start of the week. Mikel Arteta's team will now travel to the San Siro as a Champions League meeting with Inter Milan awaits them on Wednesday (November 6).

Following that, Arsenal will return to league action, where they will be expected to get a result from Stamford Bridge against Chelsea on November 10.

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Mikel Arteta responds to whether Arsenal are missing Martin Odegaard

Martin Odegaard

Arsenal's recent slump in form has coincided with the absence of their captain and attacking midfielder Martin Odegaard. The Norway international continues to nurse the ankle injury that he picked up in early September while on international duty.

Odegaard was a key figure for the Gunners last season, scoring 11 goals and bagging 11 assists in 48 matches across competitions. When asked if his side are missing the 25-year-old playmaker, Arteta said (via Football London):

"Yeah we don’t have him. We can discuss that all day long. We haven’t had him for the last six weeks. Today we need to look at ourselves and congratulate Newcastle."

Arsenal, unfortunately, do not have an experienced like-for-like replacement who can step in during Odegaard's absence. The closest player, who can perform this role is the Gunners' 17-year-old academy product Ethan Nwaneri, who is yet to start a Premier League fixture for the club.