The Magpies were beaten 3-2 by Arsenal, with Anthony Elanga and Jacob Murphy scoring for Newcastle. Arsenal won through goals from Mikel Merino, an Alex Murphy own goal and a penalty converted by Martin Odegaard, which was won by 15 year-old Max Dowman.
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Afterwards, Howe said: "We played well and we needed a step up in performance. There were a lot of positives for us today.
"There are still some things to iron out and to work on especially the goals we conceded. We kept going."
On the future of wantaway striker Alexander Isak, Howe was asked if he would be joining the tour.
"No chance," he replied. "We’re not deluded. We know we need to bring players in. We’ve known that. We know what we wanted. It’s been a challenging window"