Eddie Howe says he “cannot be too critical” of his Newcastle players despite their 1-0 loss to Arsenal.

The defeat means Newcastle have lost five games in a row in all competitions and leaves them 14th in the Premier League table.

“I can’t be too critical of the players today,” the Newcastle boss said, however. “I’ve been critical in recent weeks but today I have to say it was much a better performance. Ultimately it wasn’t good enough but we have to take the positives.”

Howe opted to drop left-back Lewis Hall for Dan Burn and defended his decision to do so.

“It’s always a difficult decision because Lewis is an outstanding player and I’ve never for any second doubted his qualities and what he can bring the team,” he said.

“But today I felt, for a number of reasons, that Dan was the right pick in terms of his height and physicality and dealing with Arsenal’s threats.

“Dan has never let us down in that position. He plays it very differently to Lewis but I thought that was the right call for this game.”

Bruno Guimaraes, meanwhile, made his first start since returning from a hamstring injury but was taken off in the second half.

“I think he’s okay but I don’t know, I’ve not spoken to him directly,” Howe said on the midfielder.

“He’s walking a bit gingerly but I think that’s to be expected because he’s missed so much football and today was a big effort from him. I thought he was outstanding.”