Arsenal extended their lead in the Premier League title race to eight points after a frustrating draw against Newcastle at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners will see the result as two points dropped with Manchester City able to close the gap back down to five points if they beat Chelsea on Thursday.
The north Londoners had the chance to move 10 points clear of the reigning champions but were held by a resilient Eddie Howe side who continued their fight in the top four. It was a busy night for referee Andrew Madley who handed out nine bookings in total in a stop-start clash.
The Gunners started strongly but ran out of steam in the second half as they failed to get on the scoresheet after scoring seven goals in their last two fixtures. Gabriel Jesus is set to be sidelined until February with a knee injury as Mikel Arteta admitted his side lacked a 'spark' in attack to find the winning goal.
