Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Football London
Football London
Sport
James Quinlan & Sam Hill

Gary Neville disagrees with Mikel Arteta on 'scandalous' penalty decisions in Arsenal draw

Arsenal extended their lead in the Premier League title race to eight points after a frustrating draw against Newcastle at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners will see the result as two points dropped with Manchester City able to close the gap back down to five points if they beat Chelsea on Thursday.

The north Londoners had the chance to move 10 points clear of the reigning champions but were held by a resilient Eddie Howe side who continued their fight in the top four. It was a busy night for referee Andrew Madley who handed out nine bookings in total in a stop-start clash.

The Gunners started strongly but ran out of steam in the second half as they failed to get on the scoresheet after scoring seven goals in their last two fixtures. Gabriel Jesus is set to be sidelined until February with a knee injury as Mikel Arteta admitted his side lacked a 'spark' in attack to find the winning goal.

READ MORE: Arsenal player ratings vs Newcastle as Eddie Nketiah impressive again and Gabriel dominant

Arteta was left in a rage as he saw his side denied two penalties in the draw against the Magpies with the Spaniard caught up in argument with officials and Howe on the touchline. When asked about the two penalty appeals after the match, the Arsenal boss responded: "It is not about which is stronger - they are two penalties.

"That’s very simple. I’m not talking about that [whether he spoke to officials about the penalty claims], I am talking about what I have seen, now. It is two scandalous penalties."

Gabriel Magalhaes appeared to have his shirt pulled by Dan Burn from a free-kick, before Granit Xhaka's cross in the dying minutes of the game seemed to strike Jacob Murphy's hand - with neither resulting in a penalty kick for the Gunners. However, Gary Neville has disagreed with Arteta and feels Arsenal only had one strong appeal for a penalty.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Neville said: "If Mikel Arteta had lost a game of football giving away a penalty like this [Murphy handball] then he would absolutely fuming. The amount of times I used to slide in and try to block crosses: your arm has to be somewhere - you cannot slide in with your arms by your side.

"His [Murphy] arm is not up in the air. That is not a penalty. Never in a million years is that a penalty!

"Arteta would not want that given against Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ben White or Takehiro Tomiyasu. He'd be fuming, it's not a penalty."

READ NEXT:

Every word Mikel Arteta said on referee, penalties, Arsenal transfers and Eddie Howe exchange

Gabriel Jesus reveals potential Arsenal injury return boost with social media hint

Arsenal fan's crazy Mykhaylo Mudryk transfer theory with star 'in London' as Edu agrees contract

Emile Smith Rowe can return as William Saliba and Arsenal star could miss Newcastle clash

Arsenal news and transfers LIVE: The latest news, rumours and gossip from the Emirates Stadium

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.