Newcastle United survived a late penalty scare to secure a point against Arsenal, and pundit Paul Merson believes the referee made the right decision.
The Magpies held Mikel Arteta’s side to a 0-0 draw at the Emirates, becoming the first team to stop Arsenal scoring this season.
Nick Pope produced some wonderful saves to deny the league leaders, with the entire Toon defence chipping into secure a 10th clean sheet of the campaign.
Arsenal could not find the breakthrough they were looking for, and became increasingly more frustrated as the game went on.
That frustration boiled over in stoppage time, as Arsenal appealed for a penalty. Granit Xhaka’s cross appeared to hit Jacob Murphy on the arm, leading to mass appeals from Arsenal players and staff.
Arteta was absolutely raging on the touchline, and his antics even inspired a response from Howe, who is normally cool, calm and collected as he leaves the shouting to Jason Tindall.
Referee Andrew Madley waved away the protests, allowing Newcastle to hold on for a point. But did he make the right decision?
Paul Merson on Arsenal penalty shout v Newcastle
Former Arsenal forward Paul Merson was on punditry duty for Sky Sports, and was asked for his view on the stoppage time incident.
“I can’t make a case for it if I’m being honest,” he told Sky Sports Premier League after the game.
“The lad’s arm is behind him, I’d be disappointed if it was given against me if I’m honest. I think Dan Burn’s one is more of a penalty for me.”
Merson is fair in his assessment, given the fact he is speaking from an Arsenal perspective. While they may feel hard done by, it would have been an incredibly harsh decision.
Xhaka is about a yard away from Murphy when he chips the cross in, while the Newcastle winger isn’t even looking when the ball touches his arm. There is no way it was a deliberate handball, meaning the right decision was made.
However, Merson does allude to another decision that went Newcastle’s way. Arsenal had another penalty shout in the game when Dan Burn was seen pulling Gabriel’s shirt. Nothing was given, but replays suggested that Arsenal had a strong case for a spot kick.
Merson thinks that one was more of a penalty, and it is hard to argue with him. Luckily, the decision went our way and it allowed us to pick up another point.
The result leaves Howe’s side in third after 18 games, while Arsenal’s lead at the top could be cut by Manchester City on Thursday night.
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