Newcastle United's three-game winning streak in the Premier League came to an end at St. James' Park on Sunday as they were beaten 2-0 by Arsenal.
The Magpies started the game strongly and came within inches of taking the lead through Jacob Murphy as his shot crashed off the post.
However, they failed to capitlise on their early dominance and were made to pay for it when Martin Odegaard collected the ball from Jorginho and brilliantly found the bottom corner of Nick Pope's goal from distance before half time.
The second goal then came with just under 20 minutes to go as Gabriel Martinelli exposed the space left by Kieran Tierney out wide to put a cross in that as diverted into his own net by central defender Fabian Schar.
Despite the frustrating result and performance, Sven Botman is one player who came away from the game with credit as the Dutch defender passed his Champions League audition with flying colours at St. James' Park.
How did Sven Botman perform against Arsenal?
The former Lille defender put in an excellent display at the heart of the defence, whilst his partner Schar struggled and scored an own goal, and his showing will please Eddie Howe as it shows that the youngster is capable of playing against the best of the best.
Arsenal are second in the division and, with the likes of Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, and Martinelli, have the kind of squad that the Magpies will be facing on a regular basis next season if they are able to qualify for Europe's premier competition.
The step up to playing elite European football may be too far for some but Botman's performance against the Gunners on Sunday suggests that he has the quality to make it.
As per Sofascore, the £90k-per-week defender won a whopping 100% (9/9) of his individual duels in the match and made three tackles and two clearances – winning all of his four aerial battles and all five on the ground.
The Dutch titan was a brick wall at the back and prevented the away side from creating more chances and extending their lead further by dominating Gabriel Jesus and any other Arsenal players who drifted into central positions in an attempt to cause him problems.
Botman was also composed and efficient in possession as the gem completed 89% of his attempted passes and three of his five long passes, which shows that he was reliable on the ball to go along with his exceptional defensive efforts.
If this performance is a sign of things to come from the Dutchman against elite opposition for Newcastle then he will be in for an excellent campaign in the Champions League next season if the club are able to secure qualification in the final four matches.