Arsenal's Premier League title chances took a hit on Tuesday night as they played out a frustrating 0-0 draw with third-placed Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium.
A win would have seen the Gunners go 10 points clear of Manchester City in second, although the Magpies' resolute defence proved too tough a nut to crack during a tense evening in north London. Mikel Arteta was bemused by the refereeing throughout, claiming his side should have been awarded two penalties on the night.
Brazilian defender Gabriel Magalhaes collapsed in the area after Newcastle left-back Dan Burn tugged the Arsenal man's shirt but referee Andy Madley failed to point to the spot. The home crowd were again incensed in the dying embers of the game when Granit Xhaka's cross seemed to strike Jacob Murphy's hand, although again, no penalty was given.
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With that said, here's a look at how the national media reacted to the tense encounter.
The Mirror believe that Arsenal were unlucky to not be awarded a spot-kick, claiming that Burn's tug on Gabriel looked to be: "a nailed-on spot-kick." Their piece then went on to single out Madley's officiating for criticism, stating: "A game that had top billing failed to deliver on the night.
"Ultimately, Madley has to take a large portion of the blame for that."
The Guardian were full of praise for the way Newcastle defended, and rightly so. The Magpies were the first team to prevent Arteta's side from scoring in the Premier League this season, with the Gunners also winning every other league match at the Emirates Stadium this term.
Their post-match analysis read: "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."
Arteta was as energetic as ever on the touchline, constantly complaining to the fourth official and calling for Newcastle players to be booked on numerous occasions. However, The Telegraph's report on the match believed the Spaniard's approach may have been counterproductive.
"At the mid-way point of the first-half so animated was Arteta that he was charging out of his technical area waving imaginary cards for perceived offences by Newcastle.
"But it looked like it unsettled his own team. Referee Andrew Madley was losing control, but there was no bias, and it resulted in the game descending – which suited Newcastle – and with three Arsenal players quickly cautioned."
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