Arsenal continued to apply the pressure on Manchester City at the top of the Premier League on Sunday with an impressive first-half performance at Newcastle.
The Gunners raced into a 1-0 lead early on at St James' Park thanks to Martin Odegaard's 15 league goal of the season from long range. His strike came only moments after VAR overturned a penalty for Newcastle after video replays showed the ball ricocheted off Jakub Kiwior's thigh before striking his arm.
Mikel Arteta's men were the better team in the opening 45 minutes and should have stretched their lead with a number of clear-cut chances. Both Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka wasted opportunities before Odegaard failed to beat Nick Pope in injury time.
READ MORE: Arsenal fans in agreement as Martin Odegaard's Newcastle strike breaks Kevin De Bruyne record
However, it wasn't all good for Arsenal. The Gunners dug-out were left fuming at referee Chris Kavanagh for his inability to book Bruno Guimaraes after his horrific challenge on Saka.
The Brazilian dived into a challenge against the forward from behind, running his boot down Saka's Achilles. Guimaraes, like a number of Newcastle players, escaped a yellow card for his antics - a decision which didn't seem to go down with the Arsenal dug-out.
Newcastle were fortunate to not receive a single booking in the first half, with Fabian Schar escaping punishment for two successive tackles on Gabriel Jesus and Granit Xhaka.
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