"Newcastle were 100 times better than us in every department from beginning to end and it is very hard to accept it," fumed Mikel Arteta after witnessing his team throwing away a whole season's hard work in a woeful 2-0 defeat at St. James' Park.

The Arsenal manager had ample reason to be apoplectic with rage. Before Monday night, Newcastle's record against the Premier League top five read: played nine, lost nine. Tottenham thrashed them 5-0 last month in one of the most one-sided affairs of the season. Under normal circumstances, Arteta's side should swat aside Newcastle without any fuss.

Instead, Arsenal were comprehensively outmaneuvered and outclassed throughout the game. Arteta's men knew they needed a win to move above Tottenham into fourth and keep the destiny of the Champions League spot in their hands. But they offered next to nothing in attack and made a catalogue of errors in defense. 

A Newcastle goal seemed only a matter of time and the deadlock was finally broken just before the hour mark as Ben White turned the ball into his own net. Bruno Guimaraes then sealed the win with a brilliant shot that left goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale no chance.

The result leaves Arsenal two points behind Tottenham going into the final day of the season. Due to a superior goal difference, Spurs only need a draw at Norwich to secure a top-four finish. Arsenal, however, must beat Everton and hope Tottenham lose to have any chance of returning to the Champions League for the first time since 2017.

The only positive for Arsenal is that their final day record over the last five seasons is flawless, comfortably beating Brighton, Watford, Burnley, Huddersfield Town and Everton along the way. Tottenham's win rate on the final day over the past five years is only 60 percent as they dropped points against Crystal Palace and Everton.

Nevertheless, Norwich have already been relegated and have nothing to play for. It would take a miracle for them to beat or even draw with Tottenham.

With his team's Champions League dram almost over, Arteta could not hide his exasperation anymore. "Normally, I will always defend my players. Not tonight, it is too difficult," he told a press conference. "We didn't compete. We never got into the game. We lost every duel. They were comfortably better than us."

"I am incredibly disappointed. It's a very painful one. It was in our hands, it's not in our hands now. We have to put our head down and swallow all the poison that we feel..."

Arteta's anger was echoed by Granit Xhaka, who pulled no punches during an explosive post-game interview. The Arsenal midfielder declared the Gunners didn't deserve a spot in Europe's showpiece event next season.

"From the first minute to the 90th we didn't deserve to be on the pitch today," he told Sky Sports. "What happened was a disaster performance and like this you don't deserve to play Champions League, you don't even deserve to play Europa League. It's very hard to take at the moment. I don't know why we're not doing what the coaches ask for."

"If someone isn't ready for this game, stay at home. It doesn't matter the age. If you're not ready or you're nervous, stay on the bench, stay at home, don't come here... We knew this game was maybe the most important for us but, with a performance like this, it's not acceptable."