Arteta lauds Arsenal’s win against Newcastle Utd, reveals Atletico Madrid plan
By Joel Masibo, April 26, 2026Following their narrow but vital victory over Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, April 25, 2026, manager Mikel Arteta commended his Arsenal squad for their bravery and commitment in securing all three points.
The North London side edged the contest 1-0, courtesy of an early strike from Eberechi Eze, who found the back of the net in the 10th minute. The goal stemmed from a cleverly worked short corner, a tactic that had previously paid off for the Gunners earlier in the campaign. Although their initial attempts from similar routines did not succeed in this match, persistence eventually paid off when Eze fired past Nick Pope to seal a crucial win.
Back to the summit
The result proved significant as it propelled Arsenal back to the summit of the table, with Arteta particularly pleased by his players’ willingness to trust the strategy despite earlier setbacks during the game.
Reflecting on the performance, Arteta said: “Game one, done! We’ve been talking about that reset after Manchester, and do what is in our hands. We certainly approached the game the right way, started quite well, and scored a beautiful goal.
“We believed it was the right thing to do against the physicality and the way they have adapted to us in set-pieces to try something else. When we did it the first time, the crowd wasn’t very sure about that, it didn’t work out. So, the second time, do you have the courage to do the right thing? And the players did it, we did it. It didn’t work out, he shot but it went off target.
“Then the big question is, do you have the courage to do it again? And the boys did it and I love that. When there’s so much at stake, when it’s tense, when there is doubt and you make decisions, we believed it was the right thing to do and we got rewarded for that behaviour.”
Eze’s effort marked his 10th goal for Arsenal, taking him into double digits, while the strike also contributed to a record-breaking milestone, Arsenal’s 17th goal from a corner situation in the league this season, the highest ever recorded in the top flight. Interestingly, only two of those have originated from short corners, both coming against Newcastle.
Arteta was quick to acknowledge the contribution of his backroom staff, especially set-piece specialist Nico Jover, for their detailed planning and innovation, as well as the players’ execution on the pitch.
Speaking on the achievement, the manager added: “That’s credit to Nico and the staff that put so much effort and enthusiasm and passion into that. The players really believe that they can give us the margins to do that and the quality that we delivered today was great.
Trip to Madrid
“I’m happy that we have a beautiful trip to Madrid to play the semi-final of the Champions League. It doesn’t happen very often, so recover and we’re going to start to talk about Atletico now and we’ll go for it.”
With momentum on their side, Arsenal now shift focus to their upcoming UEFA Champions League semi-final clash against Atlético Madrid, as they look to carry their strong form onto the European stage.