Mikel Arteta, the head coach of English football club Arsenal, expressed his confidence that his team wants to win the league title after watching them struggle to secure a victory against Newcastle United and reduce the gap with Premier League leaders Liverpool.

According to the British news agency PA Media, Liverpool, the defending champions, lost 1-2 to Crystal Palace last Saturday, giving Arsenal a chance 24 hours later, but they seemed on the verge of giving it up at St James’ Park.

Six minutes before the end of the match, Newcastle was leading with a goal scored by Nick Pope in the 34th minute, but Mikel Merino equalized for Arsenal, and then defender Gabriel scored the winning goal in the sixth minute of added time.

Arteta said: “There are moments in the season, and of course with the start we have already had and the tough matches we faced, today we had the opportunity to reduce the gap, and we did that in a stadium with a recent and difficult history for us.”

He added: “I think this shows how much the team wants to win.”

Arsenal was the better team for long periods, but the brilliance of Nick Pope, Newcastle’s goalkeeper, who saved his team from several attempts, and the desperate defense prevented a win until the thrilling end of the match.

With this win, Arsenal ended a streak of three consecutive defeats in all competitions at St James’ Park.