Arsenal hit Newcastle roadblock as Gunners title charge dented in fiery draw
Mikel Arteta was full of anger and frustration at the final whistle.
Arteta’s temper boiled over after Arsenal missed the chance to go ten points clear at the top of the Premier League.
But the reality was Arteta’s men did not do enough to win a feisty, hard fought match at the Emirates which showed more about Newcastle than Arsenal.
Eddie Howe has built a resilient team which is hard to break down, they are now unbeaten in 15 games and they showed they are not going away.
It is 20 years since Newcastle played in the Champions League and, on this evidence, they are ready to get back onto European football’s biggest stage.
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Arsenal were furious with referee Andy Madley at full-time (Getty Images)The Toon Army were in full-on party mode at the final whistle, shirts ripped off in the away end and celebrating another precious point this time against the leaders.
Arteta’s frustrations were largely at referee Andy Madley who dished out nine yellow cards - when he ran out of players on the pitch he also cautioned Newcastle substitute Jamaal Lascelles when he was arming up - and frequently looked like he was losing control.
But the last gasp appeal for a penalty after Granit Xhaka’s cross hit substitute Jacob Murphy fell on deaf ears with Madley and also survived a VAR check.
It was never a penalty, not in a million years, but showed how desperate Arsenal had become because they had run out of ideas on how to break Newcastle down.
Arteta also insisted that they should have had a penalty when Dan Burn pulled Gabriel’s shirt in a goalmouth scramble but that also survived a VAR check and was hardly nailed-on.
Eddie Nketiah’s 87th minute shot was as close as they came to scoring all night but Newcastle keeper Nick Pope made a super save with his legs.
Arsenal did not create enough, they started brightly but it looked like the fixture list had finally caught up with them together with a lack of options from the bench.
Newcastle dug in and earned a fine point (Ian Walton/AP/REX/Shutterstock)No wonder they are hunting down Shakhtar Donetsk forward Mykhaylo Mudryk in the January window because, without Gabriel Jesus through injury, they do look short of options in attack.
That is not a criticism of Nketiah because not many clubs have a better back-up option as a centre forward.
But Arsenal’s squad is thin, that was clear, but it was also the first time they have failed to score in the Premier League this season and it was also the first time Arteta’s men have dropped points in eight home games.
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Arsenal are still eight points clear at the top - Manchester City now have a game in hand - and that is one hell of a margin and should help Arteta calm down when he sees the bigger picture.
Referee Madley dished out nine yellow cards (Getty Images)But they failed to break down Newcastle who were so well organised, so well disciplined and it is easy to see why they have only conceded 11 goals in 18 games this season. This was their tenth clean sheet.
This is a different Newcastle. Arsenal fans were fuming at the end, complaining about anti-football as they left the stadium.
But Newcastle were smart, had their moments too - Joelinton headed wide from a glorious chance in first half injury time - and they are no longer a team willing to roll over.
Arsenal only had half chances - Gabriel’s first half header drifted wide - other than Nketiah’s late effort and that was why Arteta was screaming for penalties.
But it was also a fascinating battle between Arteta and Howe in what could be a managerial rivalry for the future as both have done remarkable jobs this season.
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