Anthony Gordon scored shortly after the 60-minute mark, but VAR had to review three different aspects of the goal before confirming it. Despite the controversy surrounding the goal, it ultimately secured a victory for Newcastle over Arsenal on Saturday night.
The sequence leading to the goal began with Jacob Murphy’s attempt, which narrowly avoided going out for a goal kick thanks to Joe Willock’s intervention near the corner flag. Willock swiftly delivered a cross back into the box, where Arsenal’s keeper, David Raya, failed to clear the ball, leading to a scrum.
Joelinton overpowered Gabriel, resulting in the ball falling to Gordon, who successfully found the back of the net. Although Stuart Attwell initially awarded the goal, VAR official Andy Madley conducted a thorough review of the events preceding Gordon’s strike, causing a delay in the game.
First, Madley scrutinized whether the ball had crossed the line during Murphy’s initial cross. Although camera replays suggested there was space between the ball and the line, Stockley Park, where VAR officials are based, maintained that there were no clear angles to confirm the ball had gone out of play after Madley’s confirmation that it had stayed in. A graphic from beIN Sports appeared to support this decision, showing a small portion of the ball over the line.
The second check involved a potential foul by Joelinton on Gabriel. However, Madley informed Attwell that no foul had occurred after multiple reviews.
Finally, VAR reviewed an offside position of Gordon himself, who seemed to be between Raya and the goal line. Typically, this would have led to the goal being disallowed because Gabriel was the only Arsenal player between Gordon and the goal line. Nevertheless, Stockley Park revealed that Madley lacked a clear camera angle to determine if and when Joelinton had passed the ball to Gordon. During the Sky Sports commentary, pundit Gary Neville agreed with each of Madley’s decisions.
Neville expressed his view on the situation, stating, “Well, he’s just gone up front, Gordon, they think it’s gone out, but… it’s close, it’s very, very close. But what’s not in doubt is the goal itself. Raya underneath it, he makes a mess of it, Gabriel might be whining about a push in the back, but there’s nothing in that for me.” He also defended Joelinton’s actions, saying, “That’s not a free kick for me from Joelinton, I just think Gabriel leans forward to head the ball and stoops down and misses it. That’s a natural jump for the ball, I’m not having that one at all. Just let me know when they’re finished, will ya? I’m done with this, I’m finished. Gabriel has gone forward himself to head the ball, throwing his legs into Joelinton, so it’s not a push. He could be offside now, I’m not sure. I haven’t got a clue.”
While Neville supported the goal’s validity, Arsenal’s manager, Mikel Arteta, was incensed by the decision. He strongly criticized the decision to award the goal, describing it as “embarrassing” and expressing his disappointment with the standards in the Premier League, which he considers the best in the world. Arteta was dismayed by the outcome and felt ashamed to be part of it, asserting that the result didn’t reflect the high-level competition the league should have. He praised his players but believed that the outcome didn’t do justice to their performance and claimed that Arsenal was the more determined team to win the game.