Half time: Gunners 0 Magpies 0

Full time: Gunners 0 Magpies 0

We Said

Eddie Howe:

"I think it was a very, very good defensive display. A very good mentality from the group, I think you saw real teamwork today. Arsenal are very, very good, they pose you different problems, they really stretch you and we knew defensively we needed to be rock solid.

"They're a top side and I think we did really well in the second half when pressure grew.

"Nick (Pope) had one save to make, apart from that it was just pressure. I was just a little bit disappointed we couldn't pose more of a threat.

"I thought we were resilient, dogged and brilliantly defended all areas of the pitch collectively. Our defensive performances have been very good and that's full credit to everyone.

"We want to compete in every game, we don't want to turn up to grounds like this and not give our best. We competed to win and we didn't manage to do that but we certainly gave them a good game.

"The next step for us is to have a little bit more quality on the ball but we're looking to improve all aspects of our game.

"We wanted to attack the game, be ourselves, we weren't (able to do so) but credit to Arsenal who forced us to sit back more than usual.

"The next step is to have a bit more quality on the ball - we had moments where we could have hurt them but a loose pass hurt us."

On the late Murphy penalty appeal:

"Obviously at that stage of the game you're thinking 'oh no, the lads have given so much', and that would have been a travesty for us. I didn't think it was a penalty but you just never know."

On Joelinton:

"The man is an incredible athlete and he’s highly motivated to help the team. I’m so pleased he’s getting the recognition from people like yourself who have a very good eye to praise his work-rate and ability to help his team mates.

"I thought he was very good tonight.”

On Martin Dubravka:

"Martin’s situation is that he wanted to come back, and we were delighted to welcome him back. There was never an issue between me and Martin. He’s a top goalkeeper, and I’m delighted to welcome him back to the squad.”

Loris Karius:

"There’s no update on Loris.”

They Said

 

Mikel Arteta said:

"The way we are playing at the moment, we have to focus on that: results will be a consequence of that. If we play the way we played today, we will win a lot of games, and that’s what we have to try to do.

"I’m so proud of the boys, the way we played, the way we dominated the game, the approach we had from the beginning and where we took he game. We didn’t concede anything I think.

"We generated so many situations that we should have finished a bit better. We lacked the spark, that final thrust, that final delivery in the box to finish the action and then obviously there were two scandalous penalties.

"We, I think, generated a lot superiority in the game. We just needed an extra pass, extra movement to get that (vital chance). I am proud of this team.

"I am not sure why they (Newcastle) set up like that. They haven't set up like that against any team this season."

Stats

NUFC 2021/22: Played 18 Won 1 NUFC 2022/23: Played 18, Lost 1 Newcastle are unbeaten in 15 league and cup games; it's one defeat in 21. That's their lengthiest run without a defeat since they went 17 Championship games unbeaten during the 2009/10 season, having matched that tally of 17 in the 1994/95 season. In between those they managed 15 in 1995/96. They haven't conceded a first half goal in 16 league and cup matches. The Magpies set a new club record of 13 successive top-flight league games during one season without defeat*. * that wording is to differentiate from the 14 game unbeaten PL run that they managed across the 2010/11 and 2011/12 seasons and the 14 game First Division run that straddled the 1949/50 and 1950/51 campaigns. Newcastle's uneaten PL run away from home is now six games, their best run of top-flight form on the road since a bizarre sequence of seven successive draws away from SJP during the 2003/04 season. Newcastle's current seasonal tally of 35 points is one more than the 34 that they reached in the entire 2008/09 relegation campaign. Since the 1-0 win in November 2010, United have played at the Emirates 12 times (eleven in the PL). Until tonight they had lost all 11. The last Magpie to score here was Ayoze Perez in December 2014, 657 minutes ago in the PL (777 minutes in all competitions). The last time we led here was in March 2012, Hatem Ben Arfa's 14th minute opener wiped out just a minute later. Eddie Howe ended his own personal losing streak here as a manager, gaining a point at the seventh time of asking following six losses (five with Bournemouth, one with Newcastle). Newcastle became the first team to stop Arsenal scoring home or away in the Premier League this season - and they were the last to do so, back in May, when running out 2-0 victors at SJP. That win and this draw were our first back-to-back clean sheets against the Gunners since 1996 (those games were a 1-0 win at SJP in March 1995 and 2-0 win at SJP in January 1996). A point here and three at Spurs saw the Magpies avoid defeat in both PL visits to North London in a single season for the first time since 2006/07 (a 1-1 draw at Arsenal at 3-2 win at Spurs). Nick Pope achieved his fourth successive clean sheet in the PL (six in league and cup competitions) and he hasn't conceded a PL goal in 362 minutes (542 minutes in all competitions). 10 of his 18 PL appearances have brought clean sheets (12 from 20 in all competitions). Collectively, Newcastle have managed now a sixth successive clean sheet in all competitions - something last done by a Magpies side in March/April 1982. That half dozen clean sheets all came in Division Two. Magpies @ Gunners - PL years: 2022/23 Drew 0-0 2021/22 Lost 0-2 2020/21 Lost 0-3 2020/21 Lost 0-2 (FAC) 2019/20 Lost 0-4 2018/19 Lost 0-2 2017/18 Lost 0-1 2015/16 Lost 0-1 2014/15 Lost 1-4 Perez 2013/14 Lost 0-3 2012/13 Lost 3-7 Ba 2, Marveaux 2011/12 Lost 1-2 Ben Arfa 2010/11 Won 1-0 Carroll 2008/09 Lost 0-3 2007/08 Lost 0-3 2007/08 Lost 0-3 (FAC) 2007/08 Lost 0-2 (LC) 2006/07 Drew 1-1 Dyer 2005/06 Lost 0-2 2004/05 Lost 0-1 2003/04 Lost 2-3 Robert, Bernard 2002/03 Lost 0-1 2001/02 Lost 0-3 (FAC) 2001/02 Won 3-1 O'Brien, Shearer, Robert 2000/01 Lost 0-5 1999/00 Drew 0-0 1998/99 Lost 0-3 1997/98 Lost 1-3 Barton 1996/97 Won 1-0 Elliott 1995/96 Lost 0-2 (LC) 1995/96 Lost 0-2 1994/95 Won 3-2 og(Keown), Beardsley, Fox 1993/94 Lost 1-2 Beardsley

Waffle

Newcastle became the first team to stop Arsenal winning at home and scoring anywhere this season with an outstanding defensive display at the Emirates on Tuesday.

It didn't begin well though, United surviving an early onslaught from the league leaders which saw the ball almost continually in our box. The seemingly-inevitable home goal never came though, Eddie Howe's side gaining a foothold in the game after numerically boosting their midfield.

There were chances for the visitors; Joelinton heading wide from three yards out and a VAR check dismissing a suspected handball in his own box from Gabriel.

The division's meanest defence once again battled through to the end though, surviving a late bombardment from the Gunners and forcing two late corners at the other end as they sought to deliver a sucker punch.

That failed to arrive, but at the other end Nick Pope made a superb block with his feet to deny Eddie Nketiah two minutes from the end of normal time.

That topped a defensive masterclass spearheaded by Sven Botman, but every player contributed to a tenacious display that included a generous measure of what used to be called gamesmanship but now has a rather more fruity label (outhousery or something like that...)

That in itself though is testament to our progress, banishing memories of the times we've made up the numbers here and trooped off bullied and beaten.

Attempts were made in the media to align Newcastle's display here with that of Leeds on Tyneside last weekend, coupled with the implication that both Uniteds lacked ambition and were content to stonewall. That theory wrongly compares a Leeds outfit whose clean sheet was down to our inaccuracy with a Magpies side who snuffed out the opposition threat.

An indicated five minutes of second half added time included a huge home appeal for handball when a Granit Xhaka cross struck substitute Jacob Murphy's arm in the area.

Referee Andy Madley however was unmoved by frantic protests and no public VAR call followed - although goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale looked to have set off to check the pitchside monitor himself. 

That brought further histrionics from Mikel Arteta, who spent the night jigging along the touchline, berating officials and the away bench in an even more irritating fashion than Jesse Marsch on Saturday.

Unusually Howe was prompted to react in the closing stages, but still kept his cool in greeting the Spaniard's antics with the derision they deserved.

No fewer than nine yellow cards were dished out by Madley but incredibly no player received two: Xhaka fortunate to avoid further censure when clumsily halting the run of Joe Willock having already been booked.

One of those bookings was for Jamaal Lascelles, who for the second time this season was cautioned without having entered the field of play - this one for (rightly) protesting about a home player gaining territory from a throw-in adjacent to where the Newcastle man was warming up.

Players from both sides went down clutching their heads in what was a bruising encounter, Willock leaving the field with what looked like either a calf strain or cramp near the end, being replaced by Allan Saint-Maximin.

The returning Wilson looked unsurprisingly off the pace and lasted 68 minutes before making way for Chris Wood in the only change to the side that faced Leeds United on Saturday.

Despite returning to full training there was no bench place for Alexander Isaak, but Martin Dubravka was unexpectedly included as a substitute following his return from loan at Manchester United. Given that Karl Darlow has occupied that bench slot in all three PL games since the World Cup, it's now open to debate who is Pope's understudy and who will be moving on.

If that last 0-0 was underwhelming, tonight's stalemate was the complete opposite. Given our awful record here and the form the hosts are in, the point could hardly have been greeted with greater joy had it been all three.

Ayoze Perez may still be the last player to score for us here, but recording only a second clean sheet in all 18 league and cup visits is progress, as is improving our miniscule points total by one - to five from a possible 45.

We may have prevented Arsenal from going ten points clear at the top, but the gap from us is still nine with them having played a game fewer.

The Magpies stay third, a point behind Manchester City having played two more games and ahead of Manchester United on goal difference. The Red Devils have one game in hand on us.

Howe's battlers proved tonight though that the Gunners aren't invincible and Newcastle now possess the mentality and the organisation to give anyone a game anywhere. In short, a club that tries.

We return to Premier League action on Sunday week at home to Fulham, following Saturday's FA Cup Third Round visit to Sheffield Wednesday and the League Cup Quarter Final against Leicester City at Gallowgate on Tuesday.

All to play for then, after another epic night in a remarkable gravity-defying season. The return of Isak is eagerly awaited, while the focus in this window seems rightly to be on boosting a midfield working flat out.

So far so good though, very good.

PS: Last word goes to some locals in the post-match queue for the Piccadilly line, some of whom weren't far behind their manager in the ranting stakes over perceived injustices. From others though there was some admiration and appreciation of us, albeit grudging. No longer ignored.  

Biffa