03 January 2023 , 22:59
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Newcastle manager Eddie Howe disagreed with his Arsenal counterpart Mikel Arteta about the Gunners' late penalty appeal on Tuesday night.
Neither league leaders Arsenal nor third-placed Newcastle was able to find a breakthrough at the Emirates Stadium. Both sides have lost just once in the league this term, and both remain on track for a top-four finish after a goalless draw.
Arteta was left fuming at the death, as referee Andy Madley waved away penalty appeals after the ball struck the arm of Jacob Murphy inside the Newcastle area. Howe, though, didn't share his opposite number's stance on the contentious call.
"We had so many situations to finish them better and then we had two scandalous penalties,” Arteta had told Sky Sports. In addition to the handball incident, Arsenal felt they should have been awarded a spot-kick for an earlier foul by Dan Burn on Gabriel.
“It is not about which [appeal] was stronger, we had two penalties," Arteta added. "I am not talking about the referee, I am talking about what I saw and that was two scandalous penalties."
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Howe, though, was not convinced. "Obviously at that stage of the game you're thinking 'god no, the lads have given so much' and that would have been a travesty for us," he said.
"I didn't think it was a penalty but you just never know. I'm delighted and me and Mikel are fine."
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Arsenal had a late penalty appeal turned down (Ian Walton/AP/REX/Shutterstock)"I think it was a very, very good defensive display and great mentality from the group," Howe added. "You saw good teamwork and a collective effort. I think Arsenal are very good and pose different problems so we knew defensively we needed to be rock solid.
"I don't think there were many periods in the game where we were totally OK. We did have our moments - I don't think we were great on the ball - but we had our moments to potentially nick it on the counter-attack or with a set-piece."
Newcastle remain third in the table after their point, though things are looking congested in the Champions League spots. Manchester United drew level on points with Howe's men after beating Bournemouth 3-0, while Tottenham have a chance to close within two of the Magpies if they can beat Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
"At the moment we are taking it day-by-day," Howe added, with the January transfer window providing an opportunity to strengthen the squad. "We have a strong group of players but we will assess what we need in January. There are no intentions imminently to improve the squad but that may change.
"There's no race from our perspective, it's just about continuing to improve and that's our main goal."