Arsenal get verdicts on four incidents after red card and penalty calls in Newcastle controversy

Arsenal landed a 2-1 win over Newcastle United on Sunday, but the game could have played out different if a number of different calls were made by Jarred Gillett.

Nick Woltemade opened the scoring for the Magpies around 10 minutes before half time with a towering header, as he connected with Sandro Tonali's ball into the box from the left. And while Newcastle aimed to relentlessly defended their lead to secure a much-needed three points on home soil, fate had other plans in the game's dying moments.

Mikel Merino squared the game with a header of his own in the 84th minute, before Gabriel secured the comeback of all comebacks six minutes into stoppage time, nodding home at the front post from a precise corner kick from Martin Odegaard.

And while Mikel Arteta will be pleased to clinch his fourth win of the season in enemy territory, the Spaniard and his side were perhaps saved by a number of close calls from referee Gillet, which could have easily given Newcastle a major advantage.

Here, Football London breaks down four incidents from the clash which could have tipped the game on its head...

Viktor Gyokeres sees penalty overturned

The game was all-square and only 15 minutes underway when Gyokeres rounded Nick Pope in the Newcastle box before floundering to the ground after seemingly being taken down, with Gillett awarding a penalty to the Gunners right away. However, VAR asked the official to take a look at the pitchside screen when they evaluated replays, noticing that the Magpies shot-stopper managed to get a touch on the ball before taking the Arsenal striker down with his knee.

After reviewing the footage himself, Gillett overturned the penalty and took Arsenal's chance to go 1-0 up away from the travelling team in a major blow. And Sky Sports pundits Dermot Gallagher and Jay Bothroyd couldn't see eye-to-eye on the decision.

Gallagher said of the incident: "When you look at it, Pope does get a touch on the ball, doesn't he? My instinct, immediately is penalty, but when you see it again, he does get a touch on the ball. He plants his foot so he doesn't follow through with the tackle, so that's why it was overturned."

However, former striker Bothroyd disagreed, responding: "That's definitely a penalty and I don't care. Okay, he's touched your ball ever so slightly, ever so slightly. If he doesn't hit Gyokeres, then he's going to go around the keeper and put it in the back of the net.

"He has obviously stopped him from getting to the ball, there might have been the slightest touch, but it isn't enough to say it's not a penalty. It's still a penalty."

Writer's verdict - No penalty.

While Pope takes down Gyokeres to prevent him from advancing, it's not a penalty in my books given that the keeper does get a touch on the ball - no matter how slight. You could also argue that Gyokeres is taking the ball too wide with his own touch to guarantee a goal, and as bitter a pill it is to swallow, certainly makes a meal of the contact made.

Anthony Elanga denied a penalty after a potential handball

Elanga also had a case for a penalty for Newcastle to put the game to bed in the 86th minute after the Gunners had just equalised. Cutting in from the right-hand side before shooting from close range - the winger watched the ball catch the extended arm of Gabriel before bundling away.

Gillett told both teams to get on with it, before waiting on confirmation from Darren England and VAR. The officials upstairs didn't see enough in it to award the penalty, as the game continued at 1-1.

Speaking about the penalty shout, Gallagher said: "I think this is a really interesting decision," before adding: "Now, the rule is, if it strikes your body and flies up onto your arm, it's not going to be given because it's not possible to get out of the way."

Bothroyd added: "I was the same with Dermot on that one. That was a tough one, because they're going into a challenge. And like Dermot said, by the letter of the law, the rule is if it touches your body and then hits your arm it's not handball.

"But the only thing I would say about that is, yes there was a challenge but not enough of a challenge because the ball was still going to go in the box until it his his arm. That's the only thing I would say on that decision, but again, by the letter of the law, it's the correct decision."

Writer's verdict - No penalty

While on a first glance it looks as though Gabriel doesn't get any of the ball with his foot, replays clearly show that Elanga's shot actually barrelled off his boot before flying up to his arm.

It's a bit of a strange one, given the centre-half has his arm in an unnatural position and extended high into the air, and James Tarkowski conceded a penalty against Leeds earlier this season while he had his tucked behind his back. But the rules are the rules.

Gabriel almost sees red

Gabriel may have secured the winning goal for Arsenal at the death, but he was potentially lucky not to be sent off earlier in the match after a shove on Woltemade. Newcastle held a 1-0 lead when the centre-half seemed to shove the Magpies talisman in the face off the ball, going completely unnoticed by Gillett until it was brought to his attention moments later.

VAR checked the incident and ultimately saw nothing in it, and Gallagher and Bothroyd were once again split on the incident. Gallagher explained his take with: "I think he's lucky he didn't actually strike him properly, because where he's got lucky is the referee hasn't seen it.

"It's gone to VAR and VAR are to say, 'Red card of nothing,' and it's decided it's not a red card. I don't think it's a red card."

However, Bothroyd made a solid point in that if Woltemade had gone down and held his face and made a fuss of it, Gabriel would have likely seen an early exit. He added: "If he goes down there and starts holding his face, they're probably going to go to VAR and see what happened - and then there's going to be a decision to make.

"The fact that he's an honest player and he's stood strong... Gabriel shouldn't have done that, that could have been costly for Arsenal."

Writer's verdict - Red card should have been shown

While Gabriel's contact is minimal, replays of the incident clearly show the Brazilian striking Woltemade with a closed fist on the cheek. If Woltemade goes down and makes a meal of it, it's a red card all day long, and potentially a three-match ban for the Arsenal defender.

Riccardo Calafiori hit by towel-gate

Calafiori suffered a bizarre ruling in the first-half of the game, when he was prohibited from drying the ball with a towel before taking a throw in for Arsenal - instead having to use his shirt. While the English Football League has rules in place to bar external equipment as part of a time-wasting clampdown, there's nothing in the rulebook that says players cannot use towels to dry balls.

However, as per reports, it is said that both teams must agree on towels being placed around the ground ahead of kick-off, and towels must be evenly distributed and not moved. That's potentially the reason behind Calafiori being stopped from using the towel he retrieved from Pope's touchline.

Speaking about the kerfuffle, Gallagher said: "I don't know why the towel is there because they have to agree before the match, both teams, that they will have towels there that they can both use. The agreement wasn't made pre-match so therefore they can't use it, neither of them. I don't know why it was out there but it was quite comical."

Bothroyd added: "Was that even the goalkeeper's towel, because if it was the goalkeeper's why was it not behind the goal? And the fact that he's gone an took it and then gone back to him and he's like, 'No you can't use that.' Why not? I don't know. That was a strange one. It was funny though."

Writer's verdict - Silly ruling

If there's a towel on the pitch and it's not too far away, then why not allow players to use it? Understand the Premier League's rules on time-wasting, but this happened in the first half of the game as it was 0-0, so I'm fairly certain running down the clock wasn't anywhere near the defender's mind.