Match of the Day

Sit back, kick off your shoes and settle down for Match of the Day.

You can watch it right here at the top of the page. Have a wonderful evening.

Paul Ince
Former MK Dons manager

“Tiredness is not the excuse you want to hear from Pellegrini. You weren’t more tired than Liverpool when you won the league cup final at the weekend and Liverpool have also had a similar amount of games.”

Stoke manager Mark Hughes, speaking to BBC Sport: "They were difficult conditions today. The first half went against us, but I thought we were excellent in getting hold of the ball and probing. The negative was not getting on the end of them. 

"Second half, with the wind, we thought it would be an advantage but it didn't turn out that way.

"We kept going and Newcastle didn’t have too many opportunities. It was a great goal from Shaqiri to win the game, great power, great strike and the keeper didn’t see it.

On keeper Jack Butland after his late save stopped Newcastle equalising: "A good keeper will get you points and get you wins and draws. He’s having a great season, but he knows himself it is only his first season at this level. But he continues to make match defining saves."

Arsenal

Arsenal captain Per Mertesacker speaking to Sky Sports:

“We tried really hard. The effort was there tonight. We played quite well but always missed the last pass and hit the post a couple of times, but it’s not the end of the world.

“We wanted a better result than against Manchester United, but it was the small margins that cost us. We lost the game on one set piece and we needed to defend better. You could feel that we were nervous out there at the end of the game.

“We have to recover quickly before Saturday and that’s the only thing we are thinking of.”

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal is delighted with a "very important" 1-0 Premier League win over Watford at Old Trafford.

Arsenal manager Arsenal Wenger says they must "bounce back" in order to challenge Tottenham in Saturday's north London derby after losing 2-1 at home to struggling Swansea.

Paul Ince
Former MK Dons manager on BBC Radio 5 live

“I think Newcastle’s home form will keep them up. They are strong at home and I think they will definitely stay up.”

Match of the Day

Don't forget there is a Match of the Day tonight, summing up all of the action from this full midweek schedule.

Join us online or on BBC One from 22:45-00:30 (23:45-01:15 in Scotland & NI; 23:20-00:50 in Wales).  

Newcastle United

Image source, Reuters

Newcastle manager Steve McClaren, talking to BBC Sport: “I’m glad we don’t have to play against Jack Butland every week. He denied us victory at St James’ Park and tonight he denied us a point I think we deserved. It’s cruel that we lost.

“I couldn’t fault the players. We were organised, hard to beat, compact and we frustrated Stoke, they had one shot in the second half and scored.

“If we continue that hard work then I‘ll get what we deserve.

"It’s difficult to stomach but you have to. Saturday at home against Bournemouth is a big game, we've got 11 games left and need a certain amount of victories. With the talent weve got, we’re confident to we can do it.”

Paul Ince
Former MK Dons manager on BBC Radio 5 live

“I think the players might have developed a tolerance to Arsene Wenger’s methods. You have to freshen it up. Sir Alex Ferguson would change the number two or let a few players go like he did with me and Mark Hughes.”

Swansea City

Image source, Reuters

Swansea first-team coach Alan Curtis speaking to the BBC's Conor McNamara:

"That's a very important win for us. We had our backs to the wall but I thought we played really well. We had a bad start, deservedly went behind, but in the second-half I thought we were excellent.

“It’s a great atmosphere in the dressing room and tonight was a great reminder of how it feels to win games at this level. Hopefully we can get a few more before the end of the season.”

West Ham United

Image source, PA

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic speaking to Jonathan Pearce: “We expected this atmosphere tonight, it is the game of the season for us. It is maybe our best performance, from the first minute we were on the front foot and dominant, tactically, technically and physically.

“Spurs concede the least goals and run the most so to out-play them is big and they should be happy it was just one goal they conceded.

“We changed the tactics with five at the back so we had wing backs chasing their runners and the system helped but how you play is more important. Our determination and togetherness was more important.

“We are not thinking about the top four. The gap might be small for those places but there is also a small gap between us and ninth place. We are going to continue to play like this and try to win every game.”

Manchester City

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini speaking to BBC Sport: “It is difficult to have an excuse but I saw the team was not recovered from the last week. We played Champions League and then League Cup final and I saw team was not fresh and Liverpool played better.

"The last two days we work very light, just try to recover the players but from beginning they won all the balls and had a high pace - more pace than our team.

“We didn’t attack well and create chances and didn’t have fresh legs to play like we can.

“It seems like the Premier League continues being the same from the start and very close. We will continue fighting.”

Image source, Reuters

Arsenal

More reaction from Arsene Wenger speaking to Sky Sports:

“The performance was okay, but we were unlucky on the night. We were on top and hit the bar a number of times. We were unlucky on the first goal. There was a foul on Ozil; we stopped playing and they took advantage of that.

“I still don’t understand why it was not given a foul. We were really unlucky.

“What we want is to win the next game."

On substituting Joel Campbell: “I knew that Joel had not played for a while and I knew that he would start to tire. I thought Welbeck would come on and fit in well."

Ben, South Shields

Dazza in Kent

Danny Mills
Former England defender on BBC Radio 5 live

"Swansea only had two shots - well, Arsenal only had five shots! Arsene Wenger will always say they were unlucky but you have to put the ball in the back of the net."

Arsenal

Image source, EPA

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger talking to the BBC's Conor McNamara:

"I believe we were really unlucky with our finishing and some decisions today. They had two shots on target and two goals.

"We stopped playing before the first goal because there was a foul on Mesut Ozil. There were hands around his neck and it should have been a free-kick for us.

"We need to bounce-back very quickly now.

"Petr Cech is injured. I think it will keep him out of the game against Tottenham at the weekend. But I have full-confidence in David Ospina."

Spurs failed to hit a single shot in the first half of a Premier League match for only the second time in the past 13 years (also vs Man Utd in March 2015)

This was Spurs’ first defeat in 13 Premier League away games (W7 D5 L1) and their first since the opening weekend of the season.