Yesterday was a debacle, but for me the game had the feeling of being one game too far. We ralllied against Newcastle when - for all of the release of pressure in the title race - there was something to play for. Not just the slim hope that the unexpected could happen in the title race, but desire to atone for last season.

This team has been running on fumes for weeks. Certain players have been run into the ground, and it shows. I am not going to go all out for Arteta in this - but I have heard people liken the league to a marathon type race where you need to pace yourself for a strong finish, and I am not sure that we have had the nous, or the players, or the squad size to do this. With our first choice 11 fit and firing we are a match for anyone - including Citeh at least at times in our home game against them. With key players absent, the replacements mean a drop in quality - at least playing the system that Arteta prefers. The shock yesterday was that we also fell well below the required level in terms of mentality and desire - and I feel that Citeh's result at Everton was partly to blame for this. We had all seen that game at Goodison Park as a Hail Mary that on obdurate and counter-attacking Everton with relegation to avoid might just get something (as they did against us). The fact that Citeh not only won but blew them away must have been deflating for our players as well as us fans. Without the league title, we basically had nothing to play for, and once we went a goal down we looked like this.

So I feel resigned rather than angry today.

I do hope, however, that we can learn from this game - and from our drop off over the past month. We to recruit need 3 or 4 players above the level of most of our current ones if we are going to push on next season - a striker; in MF and at RB in particular. We need another Saliba type CD. We ned to learn how to rotate before players blow up. And we need to learn to focus at home like we often manage to do away. I do think that there was an element of underestimating Brighton - or at least their energy and desire. we seemed so flat and ponderous yesterday - and have been too vulnerable in a number of home games this season.

I have to say that for all his defensive frailties it looked like we missed Zinchenko yesterday. But also I feel that we have become over dependent on him; Partey (our decline has coincided with his form going off a cliff), and Martinelli - just as we were on Saka earlier before he ran out of juice.

It actually wouldn't surprise me if we win our final 2 games, but this end of season has shown the need to reach another level in terms of sustaining form and focus if we are to improve again.