Anthony Gordon’s controversial second-half winner gave Newcastle United victory over Arsenal in a feisty encounter at St James’ Park.
Gordon’s scrappy 64th-minute strike summed up a dogfight of a game, with the video assistant referee checking for whether the ball had gone out of play, for a foul and for offside before Newcastle were finally allowed to celebrate.
It condemned Arsenal to their first Premier League defeat of the season as referee Stuart Attwell found himself at the centre of several contentious moments even before Gordon’s decider.
Newcastle were furious when Kai Havertz escaped a red card for a wild first-half challenge on Sean Longstaff before Arsenal demanded similar punishment for Bruno Guimaraes, who was fortunate after appearing to elbow Jorginho.
The Magpies finally broke the deadlock when Arsenal keeper David Raya missed Joe Willock’s cross, leaving Gordon to pounce after a tangle between Joelinton and Gabriel at the far post.
Arsenal struggle for spark
The bare facts suggest Arsenal have made a solid start to the season as this was their first league defeat and they lie in third place, only three points behind Saturday night’s leaders Manchester City.
Dig deeper, though, and there are signs that will concern manager Mikel Arteta as the Gunners are still not showing the fluency and spark that saw them lead the title race for so long last season before being hauled in by Manchester City.
And there are questions surrounding two of Arteta’s summer signings – goalkeeper David Raya and Kai Havertz.
They were both involved here, Raya with his flailing and failed attempt to claim Joe Willock’s cross before Gordon scored and Havertz with the foul on Longstaff that sparked a flare-up between the teams.
Raya has yet to prove he is an upgrade on the dropped Aaron Ramsdale, while Havertz, whose style is naturally languid, cruised through this stormy game to little or no effect.
Arsenal are still in a good position, but this has been a notably poor few days for them, with the Carabao Cup loss at West Ham on Wednesday followed by this reverse at St James’ Park.
