"I’m going to walk off bro" - Ian Wright unhappy with Gary Neville's claim about Newcastle VAR decision in win over Arsenal
Newcastle United beat Arsenal 1-0 last Saturday (November 4) in a tightly contested Premier League affair. The Gunners have cause to feel hard done by the result after a string of calls went against them during the match, including three incidents building up to the only goal of the game.
Anthony Gordon scored the winner in the second half, but the moments building up to it had controversy written all over it based on some dubious refereeing decisions.
Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright and Manchester United legend Gary Neville were in studio, discussing the events that transpired. Neville put across his opinion that while the refereeing calls were not probably clean, they weren't exactly a 'howler'.
He said (reported via Tbr Football):
“Is the Newcastle goal on Saturday a howler? It’s not a howler."
Ian Wright was caught in disbelief with Neville's comments and refused to agree with the former Manchester United captain.
“Of course it’s a howler! We’re talking about minimal contact on penalties and this man has two hands on his back. I’m going to walk off bro. I can’t deal with the anger which is starting to build up in me. How can you lot be honestly talking about minimal contact for penalties,” Wright said.
“And people will say oh it’s because it’s Arsenal but it’s not because it’s Arsenal it’s because he’s got two hands on his back!”
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta echoed the thoughts of Ian Wright, calling the decision a 'disgrace'.
What exactly happened during the Newcastle United vs Arsenal game?
The game promised to be a high-tempo affair and it delivered. There was a spirited fight between two sides, both of whom refused to give an inch. For starters, there were several risky and unncessary challenges, with Kai Havertz from Arsenal going in studs up in the first half.
As for Newcastle, Bruno Guimaraes will count himself a lucky lad for escaping a potential red card for an unprovoked elbow tackle on Jorginho. The match continued in provocative fashion but all of it was eclipsed by Newcastle's goal.
To begin with, the ball allegedly appeared to have gone out of play when it was delivered into the Arsenal box. Gabriel who was present in the box, dived forward to head the ball but failed to make substantial contact due to what appeared to be because of a strong shove from behind by Joelinton.
The drama continued as the ball appeared to hit the Newcastle man's arm who then played it back across goal for Gordon, who supposedly looked offisde. Despite so many potential goal-denying incidents taking place in the build-up, Newcastle's strike counted and it proved to be the fatal blow on the night for the Gunners.