RAFAEL BENITEZ insists it is “no surprise” to see Newcastle United in the relegation zone given their failure to adequately invest in the summer.

The Magpies crashed into the bottom three for the first time this season as Mesut Ozil’s volleyed winner condemned them to a 1-0 defeat at Arsenal.

With West Ham United and Crystal Palace both winning, Newcastle are back in the relegation zone for the first time since they crashed out of the Premier League under Benitez two seasons ago, but while the Spaniard is understandably disappointed with his side’s struggles, he insists he is far from surprised.

Newcastle have picked up just one point from their last nine games, but Benitez claims they were always destined to struggle after a summer that saw Mike Ashley and Lee Charnley fail to deliver a number of his leading transfer targets.

“Our situation is that we did so well for a while that everybody was expecting that we could be in the top ten, but we knew that this team, coming back from the Championship last year and doing the things that we did in the summer, had to be near the bottom of the table,” said Benitez.

“Obviously, the last results have not given us too much confidence, and we had two or three injuries when maybe we could have done better against teams that are closer to us. We didn’t do that because we couldn’t. We lost by one goal, and then we are in a position that could be expected because the things that we did were right.

“Now, we have to put things right and make sure that we continue with this mentality and spirit, and playing better if we can. Hopefully, we will bring some players in in January to give a lift to everyone.

“The situation is something we could expect. Some of the teams that you might expect to be around (the relegation zone) have been in the Premier League for two or three years and have players with the experience of being in this league for two or three seasons.

“We have a young team that is learning every week. Sometimes we make mistakes and pay for that, sometimes we give a performance like this where we keep going right to the end and create chances, but still it is not enough.

“For us, it is a learning process and we have to keep going. The fans appreciate that and the players know that is the way. We have to keep going with the confidence and belief that if something changes a little bit, we will be there again winning games in a row.”

Newcastle have won just one of their last 13 matches, but Benitez feels it would be unfair to be too critical of his players after they ran their hearts out in an attempt to match an Arsenal side who currently sit in fourth.

“You cannot complain about the attitude and work rate of our players,” said the Newcastle boss. “They are giving everything, but we are where we are and we have what we have.

“They are doing so well in terms of effort and trying to do things that you cannot complain. The only thing is that sometimes in the final third we are lucky enough.

"We had a couple of chances at the end, although they also had a couple of chances in the first half and could have won with a bigger margin. Still, though, we stayed in the game and when you are working as hard as we were working, that means that this team is still fighting. I think the fans appreciate that.”