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Newcastle United	0 - 2	Arsenal
Half time:	0 - 2
Score Sheet:
		Bergkamp (11) Campbell (40)
	Teams
Given Hughes Distin Dabizas O'Brien Solano Jenas Robert Speed Shearer Ameobi		Seaman Dixon Luzhny Campbell Stepanovs Vieira Lauren Grimandi Pires Bergkamp Wiltord
Substitutes:
(64) LuaLua for Ameobi (81) Cort for Hughes		Kanu for Bergkamp (69) Edu for Wiltord (86)
Subs not used:
Elliott Harper Acuna		Wright Aliadiere Halls
Bookings:
None		Pires (71)
Sendings off:
n/a		n/a
Referee: Neale Barry (Roxby) - must have got fed up with those Scunthorpe jokes. No major ricks - unless you were one of those people who believed he missed at least one penalty appeal, but an irritating habit of making silly little errors and consulting with his linesmen when it suited him, instead of when the flagwavers had an obviously better view.
Attendance: 52,067 Support in the second half was poor with the apparent acceptance of defeat particularly disturbing, and the songs of the Gunners bouncing around far too often. That was in stark contrast to the waves of support that greeted the opening minutes of the game, which one newspaper later compared to the atmosphere in that infamous "Championship Eliminator" when Manchester United came here and won 1-0 with a second half goal.

11 mins The ball was played through to Bergkamp just inside the box. He flicked it one way and ran round the blind side of Nicos Dabizas before side-footing past Shay Given into the corner.

Opinion seems divided whether he meant it to happen exactly the way it did but it looked damn good. 0-1

40 mins A simple enough free-kick curled into the area found Campbell's head getting there ahead of Dabizas, heading powerfully down and into the corner of the Leazes goal. 0-2

Half time: Newcastle 0 Arsenal 2

Full time: Newcastle 0 Arsenal 2

Uncle Bobby said: 

We are not finished yet and there's no need to be despondent - we have merely lost to a very good side.

"We won at Sunderland last week and if we had only got one point there and one today, we wouldn't have what we do now.

"We are fourth in the table and are one point behind Liverpool with a game in hand. Arsenal have taken three points off us and we've taken three off them. So what's the worry?

"Overall, they were basically too good for us. We began very well and their first goal came out of nothing, but it was brilliant.

"I'm angry about the second goal - Nicos Dabizas allowed Campbell to get across him for a header.

"Yet our boy Jermaine Jenas had a good game and that bodes very well for the future.

Shay Given:

"The boss told us to keep our chins up in the dressing room on Saturday night.

"We have a big game with Liverpool on Wednesday and after that we have as good a run-in as any of the top teams.

"And despite losing on Saturday we are still not too far away from the leaders Manchester United and we are still hanging in there.

"At first we heard Henry was injured then we heard he was playing and we didn't really know that he was definitely out until we saw the teamsheet.

"But this just goes to show what a quality squad Arsene Wenger has got at Arsenal.

"Yet, having said that, I thought we played well in the first half and we were disappointed to go in at the interval 2-0 down.

"They took their first two chances but we had several half-chances without being able to stick them away."
 

Arsene Wenger on the Arse's title challenge: 

"I think we're in a very good position to do it, and it's just down to us. Of course, there's still a long way to go. But what we achieved here reinforces our belief."

"We were highly concentrated, sharp, determined, didn't give anything away, were very intelligent in our defending and used the ball well.

"It was very important that in the second half we didn't make any mistakes, and all the 11 players gave everything today."

"We know that we will go through periods when there are injuries and suspensions and everybody will get a chance. It's the spirit in the whole squad that determines whether you win or lose.

"Players like Gilles Grimandi and Lee Dixon deserve a lot of credit in recent weeks and even Sylvain Wiltord does not always get the recognition he merits.

"Gilles knows that he will not play in every game, but he is an extremely reliable player and has done tremendously well. I think his contribution is under-rated.

"Igors Stepanovs has also come in and done very well. When he first came in it was not easy for him because there were a lot of big names around him.

"He had a big blow against Manchester United last year when we lost 6-1 and many people had a bad opinion about him.

"But he has come back from that and changed things around and he also deserves a lot of credit for that."

About Bergkamp:

"If you one day put all the goals Dennis scored together that would be a good lesson for somebody who likes fantastic goals and good enjoyment. He scores only great goals usually, and tonight we saw another one."

1,532,935 folks have officially watched the black and whites in all competitions this season, while the millionth person to stride through the gates of SJP this season will be turning up for the Arsenal Cup game, possibly a little tipsy (969,036 so far.)

We may have cured our nasty habit in London, but when the blighters come up the apples 'n' pears to Level 7 of the Milburn, things are rather less clever.

Putting aside the expected Cup victories in recent seasons over Palace, Brentford and Orient, our league record against London clubs is nowt startling and prevents us from truly claiming to be "fortress St.James'

2001/02:

Arsenal (h) lost 0-2, Chelsea (h) lost 1-2, Spurs (h) lost 0-2.

To play: Fulham, Charlton, West Ham

2000/01:

Arsenal (h) drew 0-0, West Ham (h) won 2-1, Charlton (h) lost 0-1, 
Chelsea (h) drew 0-0, Spurs (h) won 2-0

1999/00:

Wimbledon (h) drew 3-3,  Spurs (h) won 2-1, West Ham (h) drew 2-2, Chelsea (h) lost 0-1, Arsenal (h) won 4-2.

1998/99:

Charlton (h) drew 0-0, West Ham (h) lost 0-3, Wimbledon (h) won 3-1, Chelsea (h) lost 0-1, Arsenal (h) drew 1-1, Spurs (h) drew 1-1 
  

This was our 147th game against the Gunners our joint most frequent opponents along with Manchester City. Game 148 follows shortly....

(The pressure starts to tell on NUFC.com - this is the second consecutive waffle in which we've had to give advance warning of our use of the word b*ll*cks.)

So reality bites then, in the form of a Dutch bloke that we once tried to buy.

You know the drill now: we've had our fun. Withdraw gracefully and avert your eyes from anything with a metallic glint, while letting the big lads with clever foreign managers go about their business. Cancel the buses, put away the scrawled-on bedsheets. It's over. 

Content yourself with thoughts of wor Jackie, Supermac sideburns and a reputation for being the best fans in the land (sometimes.) We're the last outpost before Scotland and jolly grateful to have been allowed to stay up this long with the real sides before returning to more mundane matters, like beating our talentless local rivals.

Bollocks.

We had enough self-belief at the start of the season for over 100,000 punters to watch Intertoto Cup football on Tyneside. Since then we've blown the doors off the cockney jinx, beaten our nearest three Premiership neighbours on their own grounds and played football of sufficient verve, skill and sheer bloody entertainment to banish memories of the the Dalgish and Gullit errors (or eras: you choose.)

Now, because one excitable Welshman cricked his knee and we were beaten by a better-organised side with some unique talents, suddenly our race is run - according to the same experts who wrote off Manchester United a few months ago.

Quite simply, this defeat is as meaningless as any of the others if the league continues in it's unpredictable way, and we return to what we've done all season - score goals against inferior teams. 

However, if we have dropped those crucial three points in a vital game, what then? 

Often in these pages we've moaned about tactics, performances, substitutions, the price of pies and anything else that was slightly less than perfect, in our view. No moans about this game though - reservoirs of good fortune were drained at Highbury in December, and  one has to accept defeat - when it comes fairly and squarely - without tantrums.  

We emerged pointless, but hopefully took notice when Arsenal gave a free demo of quality team play on our own doorstep. The names of their players almost didn't matter, such was the collective will and cohesion of their performance. We by contrast were shorn of our get out of gaol card, and found lacking in the inspiration stakes.   

We are an aspirational club now: the ground has been rebuilt and filled by people who again want to be part of that special Tyneside football thing. People come from all over the World to see Alan Shearer lead the lads out clad in black and white.

Despite my own dark conspiratorial thoughts, the powers-that-be at Sky and the BBC want us on the telly because we pull in the crowds and get people talking. Big games at St.James' are big games for the nation - Kevin Keegan and his Man City side got more exposure in 90 minutes at Gallowgate than in the rest of their season put together.

Five million quid down for Jenas was as clear a statement of intent as the feuding between Derby and West Ham for Robert Lee summed up their ambitions.

Arsenal simply highlighted the shortcomings of the present squad - the inconsistency of the likes of Robert, the occasional defensive lapses and the erratic talents of our young strikers. Often this season our salvation has been some individual brilliance, along with good fortune both in the injury and disciplinary stakes. Goals have appeared from the ether, last-ditch tackles from players emerging from the ground, saves defying logic. 

It's to Robson's extreme credit that he has worked with his playing resource to build confidence and spirit, and instill self-belief, but there's a long way to go - some of the players have not yet reached their full potential, the club as a whole certainly hasn't.

If we're to improve, attracting quality players to the club and keeping the ones we've got (Kieron) then playing Champions League football consistently is the way to do it. The twin essentials of spending power and prestige won't be achieved by giving trials to somebody's brother from the other side of the world, or giving your ground a silly name.  

We've come a long way in a short time - Ending the season trophyless would not seem like failure to me - to fail now would be to slip backwards into the ooze with the rubbish from the Tees and the Wear. 

If Arsenal or Manchester United win the Premiership and the Champs League, it's because they are better than us - with better players, superior organisation and the mental toughness that only comes with top-level experience. To aspire to those standards must be our goal, and not merely content ourselves with with having a bigger ground than our neighbours.

From the Intertoto to the Champions League might not be snappiest title for the end of season video, but i'd buy it. 

PS: No crying on the telly on Wednesday, even if Stan Collymore comes out of the Kop and pops in the winning goal in the 103rd minute. Stand up sing, shout, go down the pub, go home - none of this bubbling nonsense.   

Biffa
 
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