Newcastle toppled Arsenal at St. James’ Park on Saturday evening in a game littered with controversies.
Eddie Howe’s men earned a hard-fought three points against the Gunners thanks to an Anthony Gordon second-half winner.
The goal itself is surrounded by controversial moments as the VAR took over four minutes to check if it should stand.
The ball seemed to go out of play before Joe Willock crossed it in and Joelinton looked like he pushed Gabriel in the back before handballing it.
To top it off, VAR checked to see if Gordon was offside but was unable to make a decision due to insufficient evidence.
Mikel Arteta was furious with the goal afterwards, but Howe gave a much calmer measured response.
“With every VAR check that was going on we thought one would cost us in the end. Initially I thought it was a good goal but I saw hesitation from the referee. Obviously pleased goal was given, a good goal from our perspective.” he said via Chronicle Live.
“It was a real battle between normally two teams a lot more fluid than that. Both teams knew we had to fight to win. Wasn’t a game of beauty. It was lot of aerial balls, which was a a marker of how hard the game was. Thankfully, we came out on top.”