NEWCASTLE, England - Arsenal defender Gabriel headed a stoppage-time winner from a corner to secure his side a 2-1 Premier League victory over Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Sunday and close the gap on leaders Liverpool to two points with a stunning late show.
Arsenal climbed to second place in the table with 13 points from six matches while Newcastle are in 15th with six points from the same number of games.
Newcastle took the lead in the 34th minute when Nick Woltemade rose highest to meet a cross from a short corner and head into the net after Arsenal defender Cristhian Mosquera had needlessly given away the set-piece with a miscued back-pass.
The visitors were frustrated as they wasted several opportunities, but netted twice late on as Mikel Merino glanced in a header in the 84th minute, before Gabriel found the winner in the 96th.
"Unbelievable, nothing better than a late winner in football. Speechless, I'm so happy," Arsenal captain Bukayo Saka told Sky Sports.
It had been 84 minutes of pure frustration for Arsenal before they ended the game in jubilation, as they were denied by excellent saves from goalkeeper Nick Pope, were wasteful in front of goal and were denied what looked a clear penalty.
The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) has been in the spotlight again this weekend, specifically around penalty decisions, and there was another major talking point with the game at 0-0.
The visitors were awarded a spot-kick by on-field referee Jarred Gillett when Jacob Murphy’s poor back-pass was latched onto by Viktor Gyokeres, who seemed destined to score until Pope's out-stretched leg sent him tumbling to the floor.
But a VAR review revealed Pope got the slightest of touches to the ball before the contact and the decision was overturned.
"There are a few things we can speak about, for example the penalty," Saka said. "For me if we have VAR it is for a clear and obvious error and the fact that it took the ref that long to decide shows it is not a clear and obvious error."
Arsenal's equalizer was similar to Newcastle’s goal as a short corner ended with Declan Rice crossing for Merino to net against his former side, before Gabriel rose highest in a sea of bodies to head in Martin Odegaard’s corner six minutes into added time.
"Two really late goals here at home hurts," Newcastle manager Eddie Howe told BBC. "We have to reflect and acknowledge that we weren't at our best. There was not lack of effort but from a footballing side, it wasn't quite there.
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"That was probably the key thing, the number of corners. I think Odegaard made a difference to their overall performance. The weight of pressure eventually told. No lack of effort but the little details have cost us."
