Eddie Howe urged his Newcastle United players to "do our job" against Everton on the final day of the Premier League season after their 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday. 

Howe watched on as Declan Rice's finish 10 minutes after half-time sealed the win for Arsenal, meaning the race for Champions League football goes down to the wire.

Newcastle's result sees them stay third on 66 points, level with Chelsea and Aston Villa, and one clear of Manchester City, who have a game in hand, and Nottingham Forest.

The Magpies welcome Everton to St. James' Park on the final day, knowing a win against the Toffees would seal a top-five finish and a return to the Champions League. 

"We came under pressure at the start of the second half, and you need to ride that storm, and we had," Howe said.

"Declan Rice produces that spectacular finish from that range. We did everything we could to get a goal.

"From our perspective, we got too passive and became a little bit sloppy on the ball. We'll learn from that. You do have times like that away from home.

"We have to take all the positives from that first half performance. We looked strong. Nick [Pope] didn't have too much to do.

"He's [Alexander Isak] got a bit of swelling in a muscle in his groin. He's only got seven days to get himself fit. Fingers crossed he can get there.

"It's obviously great for everyone to watch and we have to do our job against Everton."

Howe did, however, praise his team for their performance at the Emirates Stadium, especially without top scorer Alexander Isak, who was missing through injury. 

Indeed, Newcastle had five shots on target in the opening 17 minutes of this match, but didn't manage another one for the rest of the game.

The Magpies pushed hard for a leveller late on, with Joe Willock squandering a golden chance in the dying minutes, but they were unable to find a way past David Raya. 

"It was a really strong first half performance from us. We looked confident," Howe told BBC Radio 5.

"I was really pleased, bar the last action, where the finishing was a bit off.

"I can't ask any more of the players, [the Emirates] is a tough place to come. We probably weren't our best in the second half and that's what's probably cost us the game."

The Newcastle boss also lauded Arsenal goalkeeper Raya for his fine display, saying: "I have to say, as well, David Raya played well."

No goalkeeper has kept more clean sheets in the Premier League this season than Raya (13, level with Matz Sels), with the Spaniard making five saves on Sunday. 

Newcastle ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.6 to Arsenal's 0.65, and Howe believed his side merited more from their display. 

"This was one of our strongest away performances, but you have to score, and we didn't," Howe said to Sky Sports after the match.

"We've only got ourselves to blame for that and some good saves from their keeper. Individual players played well, and we’ll take that into next week."

Newcastle created plenty of chances on Sunday, but sorely missed the services of Isak, who has netted 23 Premier League goals this season. 

"I don't know, it's too early to make an assessment. I think he has a chance, but I don't know about that," Howe said when asked about the Swede's injury.

"He had a scan this morning, felt a bit of stiffness last night, but didn't feel anything during training.

"The scan showed some swelling so we took him out of the game, and hopefully he can be ready for next week."