I’d forgive you if you turned Newcastle-Arsenal off at some point in the second half. We’ve seen the script before — Arsenal losing a match despite being the better side, the opposing goalkeeper standing on his head, some…questionable refereeing decisions that went against Mikel Arteta’s team, and the home side bunkering into a deep block. Add in the impending frustration at not taking advantage of Liverpool dropping points, and it was looking to be another annoying, disappointing day for the Gunners.
But the lads fought back. Arsenal hadn’t won in the Premier League when trailing at halftime since February of 2023 (although I’d point out they aren’t often trailing at halftime, either). They hadn’t won at St. James’ Park since May of 2023. Set piece goals from Mikel Merino in the 84th minute and Gabriel in the 95th snagged all three points for the Gunners.
And deservedly so. Arsenal thoroughly outplayed Newcastle at their own ground. The hosts managed just 8 shots, only three of which were on target, good for 0.5 xG. Arsenal fired 20 shots, 7 on target (and one thundered off the post), generating 1.8 to 2.0 xG, depending on where you look. The match felt that way, too. Arsenal were attacking in waves and Newcastle weren’t troubling at the other end. It seems like that was by design, too. Newcastle set up deep and looked content to try to see out the 1-0 win. Arsenal were going for it from the off.
I really like that Mikel Arteta started Ebere Eze in midfield. He provided the extra connection, creativity, and threat around the edge of the box that the Gunners have needed. The Gunners were all over Newcastle from the opening whistle and were unlucky not to be up by at least a goal early in the match. They thought they had an opportunity to open the scoring on a penalty, but VAR intervened to suggest an overturn of the call on the field.
I don’t want to spend too long talking about the decision, but it was a baffling one. Viktor Gyokeres touched the ball around Nick Pope. Pope barely got a touch on the ball before clattering into the attacker and cleaning him out. That’s a foul anywhere else on the pitch. Simply touching the ball does not negate a foul for taking an opponent out. Gyokeres might have even been able to get to the ball to score into an empty net but for Pope wiping him out. I think it was a foul but I can see how people might disagree. They’d be wrong, of course, but you could reasonably disagree.
The problem is that the foul and penalty were given on the pitch. Given the significant disagreement from commentators about whether it was a foul (Robbie Earle, Jamie Redknapp, and Shay Given, among others, thought the call should have stood), I fail to see how it could have been a “clear and obvious error” sufficient to meet the supposedly high bar for VAR intervention to overturn a call on the pitch. Add to that what the U.S. commentators reported on the broadcast — that the VAR was lobbying hard, trying to convince the center referee to overturn the call. The mere fact that it takes heavy persuasion to change the referee’s mind is evidence that nothing about the call was “clear and obvious” enough to take away a penalty kick.
Bukayo Saka summed it up nicely after the match when he said, “It’s thing like this that always go against us.” Mikel Arteta said, “For me it’s very clear that VAR doesn’t have to intervene. It’s a penalty.”
Not to put too fine a point on things, but I’ll point out that last season, William Saliba got his head to the ball before he and Joao Pedro clashed heads. The penalty was awarded on the pitch and upheld on VAR. I see no discernible difference between that penalty that stood and the one today that was overturned.
Also, Riccardo Calafiori being scolded for grabbing a towel from next to the goal to dry the ball off and not being allowed to use it was one of the more bizarre exchanges I’ve ever seen on a football pitch.
The VAR delay and penalty overturn seemed to knock Arsenal off their stride. Newcastle came into the game — although I’d point out that their period of ascendancy started when Dan Burn, who was definitely in an offside position, challenge for the ball and may have fouled Jurrien Timber in doing so, to win a corner. The point being that Newcastle got their foothold from a corner kick that never should have been given in the first place.
Eventually, Newcastle took a 1-0 lead. Cristhian Mosquera badly sliced a clearance out for a corner. Arsenal were slow to recognize that it had been taken short and didn’t close down. Nick Woltemade’s extended arm to Gabriel’s back created space, and the German nodded home. Arsenal were furious that a foul wasn’t given. I think Gabriel could have stayed on his feet, so I’m not quite as upset about the decision.
That said, a fully extended arm into the back of an opponent is different from the usual jostling in the box. You’ve seen those given as fouls. They aren’t always given, and of all people, Gabriel should know that about St. James’ Park from two seasons ago. The Brazilian is mostly to blame for not battling harder. But sometimes the whistle bails you out in situations like that.
Mosquera was subbed off in favor of William Saliba at halftime, which I think was a bit harsh on the youngster. It’s tough not to link his coming off with his mistake that conceded the corner and a bit of unease to his play on the ball overall on the afternoon, but he wasn’t the problem. Perhaps Mikel Arteta made the switch that he could commit more bodies forward into the attack and rely on Saliba’s skill and control at the back to mop things up. After all, that’s what Arteta decided to do with Declan Rice all match. He got the extra attacker on the pitch (Eze) and let Declan clean up whatever extra threat came as a result. It worked, too. Rice single-handedly diffused at least two Newcastle attacks on his own. Arteta let Declan Rice do what Declan Rice does best and Arsenal profited from having an elite, entire-field-covering disruptor on the pitch.
Despite the open play attack looking better, particularly in the first half, the Gunners couldn’t find a way through. They weren’t helped by the fact that apparently you could do whatever you wanted to Viktor Gyokeres without being called for a foul — one replay showed Jamal Lascelles grabbing Gyokeres by the face to throw him to the ground. Fortunately, Arsenal are the best in the Premier League and arguably the world from set pieces.
Mikel Merino equalized with a brilliant glancing header off the far post that left Nick Pope comically glued to his line. Ironically, the goal came from a short corner play that looked remarkably similar to the one from which Newcastle had scored the opening goal. Gabriel atoned for his weak defending on the Newcastle goal by scoring a towering header in added time. The Brazilian CB has the most goals among defenders since he joined the Premier League and has scored the fifth-most headed goals of any player in that time, too. He used his prodigious strength (that he failed to show when Arsenal conceded) to fight through a massive shirt pull on the winner.
It was a character-revealing, statement win for Arsenal. They needed to capitalize on Liverpool dropping points against Crystal Palace. For 84 minutes, it looked like they weren’t going to take advantage. But they did. At a nightmare ground against a bogey club. These lads have mettle and will fight to the end, just like they’ve done the last three seasons.
