Mikel Arteta bemoaned his side’s finishing against Newcastle (Image: Getty)
singled out for his 1v1 miss as the ‘best chance’ of ‘s 2-0 defeat against United on Tuesday night.
The Gunners registered just three shots on target throughout the 90 minutes, with Arteta and co. now facing an uphill challenge to reach the Carabao Cup final.
opened the scoring for the visitors in the first half, before added a second midway through the second period to give the Magpies a tantalising two-goal advantage.
Only twice in the history of the competition has the team that won the first leg away from home not progressed to the final – a worrying omen for manager Arteta.
Arteta admitted post-match that he believed the match hinged on a missed chance in the first half from Martinelli, who had broken in behind the backline, but could only rattle the woodwork with his strike.
It came prior to breaking the deadlock and when Arteta was asked about the effort post-match, the Spanish coach told Sky Sports: “We had a 1v1 chance with the keeper and in the semi-final you have to be clinical.”
On his team’s overall performance, he stated: “That was the biggest difference [being clinical] in the game. In every other aspect, we were the better team.
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Gabriel Martinelli came closest for Arsenal during their clash against Newcastle (Image: Getty)
“They scored two goals and credit to them as they managed to win the game like this. When we missed the chances and conceded the goal it is always tough, but the team reacted.
“We generated a lot of situations, but it is true, they defended the box very well…we can do better with our decisions.”
And when quizzed on ‘s chances of progression in the second leg, he said: “We have to be disappointed as it’s another result that we wanted, but that’s the reality. I have full belief.
“I have seen my team playing against them. I believe we can do it.”
gaffer Eddie Howe smothered the praise on his players during his own post-match debrief, telling Sky Sports he was proud of how they defended at both 1-0 and 2-0 up.
Howe mused: “I think it was an interesting game, we started on the front foot and we tried to take the game to them.
“It was then about our mentality to defend and we did that really well. We know what is at stake and the players put their bodies on the line.”
will have the chance to overturn to deficit when they travel to St. James’ Park for the return leg on February 5.