A look at what the national media had to say following Newcastle's draw with Arsenal.
Newcastle demonstrate progress with Arsenal point
Phil McNulty of BBC Sport said: "Newcastle's run into the top four ran into resistance against Leeds United at St James' Park but showed they can dig deep themselves as they battled to earn a crucial point at Arsenal. Manager Eddie Howe will be delighted with both the performance and the result, although he will know it might have been even better had Joelinton converted a relatively simple headed opportunity.
"This will be a minor complaint overall as Newcastle showed they were prepared to fight for everything, over-zealously in the eyes of some Arsenal fans, but they will not care and nor will the Toon Army, who noisily celebrated the point at the final whistle. Newcastle were well organised, tried to threaten when they could and reaffirmed the huge improvement they have made under Howe and with the influx of cash from their Saudi Arabian owners.
"The top four was a pipe dream at the start of the season but Newcastle are genuinely in that conversation now and showed why as they earned what could be a vital draw."
Arsenal and Arteta frustrated by Newcastle’s defensive masterclass
Nick Ames of the Guardian said: "No goals and a litany of niggle, but the beginning of a modern-day title rivalry? Perhaps that is going too far and, after all, back in August few would have given credence to the suggestion of Arsenal and Newcastle fighting it out at the top.
"But the sight of Mikel Arteta being dragged away from confronting Eddie Howe after full time spoke of the needle that took little time to rear its head here; Howe had got exactly what he came for and it was not hard, for different reasons, to see why these teams have lost only a game apiece all season. Arteta had been raging when Jacob Murphy was not penalised after a last-gasp handball appeal, a decision that left him simmering almost an hour later.
"A different call would have given Arsenal a penalty and, in all likelihood, helped them move 10 points clear; they had attempted to turn the screw late on and, given the number of balls that flew into and across Newcastle’s area, there was always the suspicion something might fall their way. They will come up against few defences as expertly drilled as this, though, and the outcome ultimately goes down as a masterclass in frustration and organisation from the visitors.
"After weathering the now familiar early storm from Arteta’s side, Newcastle dug in and ensured proceedings were rarely allowed to flow. Eddie Nketiah will wonder whether he could have caught a late chance, repelled by an alert Nick Pope, more cleanly and half-chances were spurned in those opening exchanges but it was telling that Arteta was reduced to complaining about unawarded spot kicks.
"He also felt an incident midway through the second half, when Dan Burn appeared to get hold of Gabriel Magalhães’ shirt at a set piece, should have been punished but really this was a rare occasion on which Arsenal did not quite do enough."
Gunners miss the chance to go 10 points clear of Man City at the top as Magpies hold firm
Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail said: "By the end, Mikel Arteta couldn’t hide his frustration. He couldn’t bite his tongue.
"Furious that Arsenal weren't awarded a last-gasp penalty through VAR after the ball struck Jacob Murphy’s hand, Arteta took his ire out on opposite number Eddie Howe. The Newcastle manager wasn’t rising to it, rightly so. It was never a penalty, although Arteta was adamant his team had been wronged during his post-match press conference.
"In the end Arteta had to be ushered away before the situation escalated. But while Arteta’s behaviour wasn’t necessarily endearing, the Spaniard’s reaction to his team’s perceived injustice is indicative of why Arsenal are currently eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
"Arteta’s hungry, so are his team. They have become accustomed to winning football matches, they clearly hate it when they don’t. There’s a lot to be said for cultivating a winning mentality, of course, although on this occasion Arteta’s annoyance at not being awarded an injury time penalty was masquerading as something entirely different.
"Credit to Arteta and Howe, they shook hands after the final whistle - though the look on the former’s face suggested he simply going through the motions."
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