THE race, for it was a race, was to get to referee Andre Marriner. As soon as Tim Krul had denied Olivier Giroud and launched a desperate clearance down the St James’ Park turf, towards the Leazes End of the stadium, Marriner blew his whistle for the final time.
Those in black and white had heard that whistle too often on an afternoon of pantomime heroes and villains. Jeers filled the stadium, and by then a cameraman and his assistant were heading for the referee as fast as they could.
At that point their camera was focusing on the loneliest man in the northeast of England. Krul had reached Marriner at around the same time as the camera to voice his complaint. Moussa Sissoko had similarly held court with Marriner after the whistle for half-time had gone. Then he mimicked the motion that changed the entire game.
Sissoko, like those who created an atmosphere that Steve McClaren rightly called fantastic, had not seen the replays and repeated angles of the challenge by Aleksandar Mitrovic in the 16th minute. Mitrovic’s studs-up tackle deflected off Francis Coquelin’s shin and on to his foot. He was sent off.
It has been about nothing but minutes and fouls since Mitrovic completed his recent £12.7m move from Anderlecht to Newcastle. When he signed, McClaren was told by an interviewer from the club that the player was a character. “I don’t want characters, I want good players,” he had replied, though he was ready to defend the player yesterday, insisting that there was no intent in the foul.
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That standpoint, like Coquelin’s shin, could not deflect the challenge. There was the predictable outcry from the home fans. It did not, at first glance, look a straight red foul. It did on the replay.
“I’ve seen it on the television, unfortunately it was a red card, he didn’t play the ball at all,” said Arsène Wenger. “Did he do it on purpose? I don’t know.”
“No intent” would be the defence of choice by McClaren. “I don’t think it was a dangerous challenge,” he said. “I think it was clumsy. I’ve seen plenty of clumsy challenges. It was a very hard red card. I’ve seen it over and over, it came over his head and he was looking at the ball, there was no intent or maliciousness, it was coming down and he kind of stamped on his foot. I was very surprised the player didn’t get up and carry on.
“The referee was a bit too soon and too harsh. I wouldn’t have said that it was a dirty game and we kicked them off the park.”
He did, however, concede that Mitrovic’s reputation may now precede him. On his debut for Newcastle he was booked within 20 seconds of entering the field and within three seconds of the ball being in play. McClaren said then he could have been sent off. Within 90 seconds of coming on at Swansea he was shown a yellow card. “Maybe refs are too busy watching Match of the Day instead of assessing their own game,” he added. “That can be a problem. Discipline has to be there but it felt very harsh today.”
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McClaren spoke of an appeal but it seemed fanciful. Perhaps the fact Sissoko had stood on Nacho Monreal’s foot after three minutes was in Marriner’s mind when Mitrovic did something similar. There was also the moment Florian Thauvin stood on Hector Bellerin’s ankle as he charged into the Newcastle penalty area after 12 minutes. It was a penalty. That was missed by Marriner. It was his biggest mistake.
A predictable plot was played out, as Wenger conceded. Theo Walcott still spurned two fine chances in the first half, but he was denied the space to utilise his speed, with Newcastle sitting so deep. They were brave (six yellow cards showing either their tenacity or their illegality) but they were toothless, Petr Cech rendered redundant.
The winning goal would come in the 52nd minute. That it was fortunate added to the sense of injustice on Tyneside. Krul, Newcastle’s best player, had saved well from Aaron Ramsey, the rebound fell to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but his low shot still had to deflect off the legs of Fabricio Coloccini to help it into the Newcastle net.
Two of Arsenal’s three goals this season have been scored by the opposition. Arsenal’s need for a centre-forward mirrored Newcastle’s need to control their own.
Star man: Santi Cazorla (Arsenal)
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Newcastle Utd: Krul 7, Janmaat 6, Mbemba 7, Coloccini 7, Haidara 6, Colback 7, Anita 7 (Perez 72min, 5), Sissoko 7 (Cisse 78min, 4), Wijnaldum 7, Thauvin 6 (De Jong 87min, 5), Mitrovic 2
Arsenal: Cech 6, Bellerin 7, Gabriel 6, Koscielny 6, Monreal 6, Coquelin 7, Cazorla 8, Oxlade-Chamberlain 7 (Arteta 84min, 4), Ramsey 7, Sanchez 7, Walcott 6 (Giroud 70min, 5)