Arteta slams officiating, Newcastle style of play in 0-0 draw with Magpies

Premier League leaders Arsenal fell short in a bid to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League after they played out a goalless draw against high-flying Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.

The draw sees the Gunners fail to score for the first time this season in the league, bringing an end to their impressive 100% home record in the PL.

The match was marred by controversy as managers Mikel Arteta and Eddie Howe clashed on the touchline, following the Gunners boss persistent calls for penalties for his team.

Manchester City can cut the advantage held by Mikel Arteta’s side at the summit to five points if they beat Chelsea on Thursday.

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In a post-match conference, Arteta blasted the match officials, stating that they missed two “scandalous” penalty calls.

The Spaniard felt his team should have been awarded a penalty on the hour mark when Dan Burn appeared to tug the shirt of Gabriel, while his appeals for another penalty as Gabriel Martinelli’s cross appeared to hit the hand of Jacob Murphy led to his clash with Howe.

He further criticized Newcastle’s set-up, accusing the Magpies of abandoning their identity in a bid to frustrate Arsenal’s style of play.

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He said, ”Extremely proud of my players. The way we played, the way we dominated the game, the way we tried, the way we continued, the way we controlled the game.”

“We missed in the final third. We had so many situations to finish better, and then we had two scandalous penalties.”

“They are two penalties, it’s very simple. I’m talking about what I’ve seen, now, and it’s two scandalous penalties.

“Newcastle wanted to set-up like this. It is not the way they play. They have not set-up like this against anyone else.

“When you cannot win you cannot lose and we kept a clean sheet and had a really good performance. Now we go again. I wanted to win the game are we drew it. We should have done some things better in the final third and we should have had two penalties to win the game.“