3 positives & negatives from Arsenal’s 0-0 draw with Newcastle

It was a frustrating night at the Emirates for Arsenal as the match with Newcastle ended 0-0 to kick off 2023.

The Gunners were only able to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table to eight points before Manchester City kick-off against Chelsea on Thursday. It felt like a missed opportunity in the match with moments that could have changed things if they had gone in Arsenal’s direction.

There is a lot to unpack, so let’s get into it.

3 positives & negatives from Arsenal’s 0-0 draw with Newcastle

Here are three positives and negatives from the Newcastle stalemate.

Positive #1: Give Gabriel his flowers

Gabriel has caught a lot of unwarranted slack this season when he’s made mistakes. He’s done that every once in a while, but he has been immense overall this season and it’s time for fans to start respecting him again.

With William Saliba still shaking off the World Cup rust, he stepped up again and delivered a monster performance against Newcastle.

Negative #1: Referees

The refereeing in this match was absolutely shocking.

It’s always frustrating to feel hard done by the referees because there’s a lack of control that is had over that. Still, Arsenal had three different potential penalty shouts that were not even explicitly checked by the referees. The foul on Gabriel was the most obvious: Dan Burn pulling his shirt from a free kick – a foul that had been consistently called all match.

Still, it’s frustrating to have the refs impact the game. But, the reality is that Arsenal must not rely on the officials for a result which leads me into…

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