Aleksandar Mitrovic was dismissed after 16 minutes, then a Fabricio Coloccini own goal ensured all three points went to Arsenal
2.55pm BST
In a nutshell, he thinks Andre Marriner was too card happy, Aleksandar Mitrovic should not have been sent off (“just a clumsy stamp on the foot”) and Newcastle were the victims. Weirdly, he doesn’t mention the penalty decision that went his way. Hmmmm ... he goes on to praise his players and the home fans to the high heavens for their efforts.
2.48pm BST
Were you nervous: “Yeah of course,” he says. “We were always on top, but once you are 11 against 10 away from home and the crowd is behind them and they’re playing very deep ... it’s difficult. We were mature ... I think we played a little bit cautious but in the end we won the game. Right from the start they were very physical and committed, but we coped with it.”
2.40pm BST
Andre Marriner blows his whistle for full time and the crowd boo the house down. It’s him they’re upset with, rather than their players, who showed a lot of character to keep the score down to 1-0 after having Aleksandar Mitrovic sent off after 16 minutes.
Their anger is misguided - Mitrovic deserved his straight red card, while Arsenal should have had a penalty three minutes previously when Marriner missed a Thauvin trip on Bellerin. Arsenal take all three points, with a performance that little to dispel notions that they need a decent striker. Newcastle have two points from their first four games and seem to have a real problem regarding the temperament of their new srtiker, Aleksandar Mitrovic.
2.36pm BST
90+2 min: Arsenal win a corner, which they promptly squander by playing the ball straight to Jack Colback. That is atrocious. On the Newcastle bench, Steve McClaren looks very upset indeed, sitting with his head in his hands, before rubbing them through his hair island in frustration.
2.34pm BST
90 min: There’ll be three minutes of added time. Coloccini gets booked for a foul on Coquelin. Wrong decision - he won the ball cleanly.
2.32pm BST
87 min: Newcastle substitution: Siem de Jong came on for Florian Thauvin just before that free kick was taken. Arsenal win a corner, but nothing comes of it. “One-nil to the referee!” sing the Newcastle fans.
2.31pm BST
87 min: Free-kick for Arsenal, about 30 yards from the Newcastle goal. Santi Cazorla steps up and brings a save out of Tim Krul. I’m not sure his effort was on target, but it wasn’t too far away.
2.27pm BST
85 min: Perez plays a raking diagonal ball towards the Arsenal penalty area, trying to pick out Gerginio Wijnaldum, who’d made a run. Gabriel cuts out the ball.
2.26pm BST
83 min: On a driving run into the Newcastle penalty area, Hector Bellerin attempts to pick out Santi Cazorla on his right. The Spaniard mis-controls from about eight yards out, squandering an excellent shooting opportunity.
2.25pm BST
80 min: Alexis Sanchez concedes a free-kick just outside his penalty area, which Jack Colback takes quickly. He plays the ball wide to the right, where Daryl Janmaat whips in a cross towards Papiss Cisse. Gabriel clears well, under pressure from Wijnaldum and Cisse. Good defending, although you’d need a heart of stone to begrudge Newcastle a goal at this point.
2.22pm BST
78 min: Newcastle substitution: Moussa Sissoko off, Papiss Cisse on.
2.21pm BST
78 min: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain attempts to latch on to a defence-splitting slide-rule pass towards the edge of the penalty area, but is foiled by Krul, who screams off his line to intercept.
2.20pm BST
77 min: Cazorla sent in the corner, Giroud got the flick on to the back post, where Gabriel attempts to scramble the ball back into the mixer. Arsenal win another corner, from which nothing comes.
2.18pm BST
76 min: Corner for Arsenal, after a good Haidara tackle on Oxlade-Chamberlain.
2.18pm BST
73 min: Daryl Janmaat gets caught offside while making an overlap run on a rare Newcastle attack down the right. They’re doing OK for a team that are a man down; at this late stage against a team that pings the ball around as much as Arsenal do, they must be shattered. But as long as there’s just one goal in it, they have a chance.
2.15pm BST
72 min: Newcastle substitution: Vurnon Anita off, Ayoze Perez on.
2.14pm BST
71 min: Newcaslte go on a rare sortie into Arsenal territory, which breaks down when Janmaat gets robbed of possession.
2.13pm BST
70 min: Giroud makes an immediate impact, getting caught offside as he attempted to latch on to a Ramsey through-ball. I’m not so sure he was offside, you know?
2.12pm BST
69 min: Arsenal substitution: Theo Walcott off, Olivier Giroud on.
2.11pm BST
68 min: Pass. Pass. Pass. Pass. Pass. Pass. Pass. Pass. Pass. Pass. Pass. Pass. Pass. Pass. Pass. Pass. Pass. Pass. Pass. Pass. Interception. Hoof! Well done, Massado Haidara.
2.10pm BST
65 min: Arsenal corner. Cazorla sends the ball in from the right, where Mbemba heads clear. Newcastle attempt to clear their lines, but run out of bodies half way up the pitch and allow Arsenal to attack again. Santi Cazorla gets an opportunity to shoot on goal, but sends the ball fizzing straight into Krul’s breadbasket.
2.08pm BST
64 min: Arsene Wenger has moved Theo Walcott out to the right flank, with Oxlade-Chamberlain moving inside.
2.07pm BST
63 min: “Same old Arsenal, always cheating!” sing Newcastle’s fans, whose 10 remaining players have collected five bookings between them. I think they were having a go at Theo Walcott, who’s gone to ground under a challenge from Coloccini. Getting on the end of a Monreal cross, Oxlade-Chamberlain fires wide. It wasn’t a clean effort.
2.04pm BST
60 min: Good save from Tim Krul, who gets a hand to a Sanchez effort from close range. Ramsey the provider there, with a nice cut-back.
2.00pm BST
56 min: Newcastle go on a counter-attack, with Thauvin galloping upfield with the ball at his feet. He plays the forward for Wijnaldum to chase, but the Dutchman is unable to out-run Hector Bellerin in a foot race and the Arsenal right-back averts the danger. If it had been anyone other than the speedy Bellerin, he might have made it through on goal.
1.58pm BST
53 min: Now what? Do Newcastle try to keep the score down, or risk losing by a cricket score as they’re tiring players go in search of an equaliser? They were unlucky there - Ramsey tried a shot from distance, which Krul parried diagonally to his left. The ball fell nicely for Oxlade-Chamberlain, whose low, diagonal drive from the edge of the penalty area looked to be going wide of the far post, before it hit the inside of Coloccini’s outstretched leg and sneaked in the corner.
1.56pm BST
Arsenal take the lead, with Coloccini deflecting a low, diagonal drive from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain into the bottom right-hand corner.
1.53pm BST
49 min: Georginio Wijnaldum gets booked for waving an imaginary card at the referee. Moments previously, Santi Cazorla had his name taken. Newcastle are down to 10 men and currently have five different players on yellows.
1.52pm BST
47 min: Vurnon Anita gets booked for a foul - well, several - fouls on Sanchez. The crowd ain’t happy, but again they can have no complaints.
1.50pm BST
The second half is under way, with no changes on either side ... which strikes me as odd. Moussa Sissoko goes on a driving, lung-busting run into the Arsenal half, that gets the crowd on their feet.
1.45pm BST
Half-time chat: Andre Marriner only got one - admittedly big - decision wrong in that half and has still managed to incur the wrath of both sets of fans, both sets of players and both managers ... which kind of suggests you’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t.
Now I’m no fan of introducing technology, because I think many football fans genuinely enjoy moaning while feeling persecuted and paranoid. I’d hate to deprive them of that basic human right, but the tedium of constantly having to listen to incredibly boring discussions about refereeing is really, really starting to grate.
1.36pm BST
It’s all square at the break after an eventful first half in which Newcastle were reduce3d to 10 men after 16 minutes following the entirely fair dismissal of their impetuous striker Aleksandar Mitrovic. Before he walked, Arsenal should have had a penalty, when Florian Thauvin tripped Hector Bellerin in the Newcastle penalty area, only for referee Andre Marriner to miss the foul. No score at St James’ Park, but for how long will Newcastle be able to hold on?
1.33pm BST
44+2min: Santi Cazorla crosses from the left, whereupon Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain attempts to score with a spectacular bicycle kick. He misses the ball completely,, prompting much mirth from the stands. Alexis Sanchez fouls Jack Colback and concedes a free-kick. He avoids a booking, which displeases Newcastle’s fans no end.
1.31pm BST
43 min: Arsenal pass and probe around the edge of the final third, looking for a way in behind Newcastle’s obdurate defence. The move breaks down when Alexis Sanchez has a shot blocked and Newcastle gallop off on the counter.
1.28pm BST
41 min: For a 10-man team that looked like it might completely lose the plot 20 minutes ago, Newcastle are doing pretty well at the moment. They’ve settled down, are defending well, getting into some promising positions amd are even giving Petr Cech in the Arsenal goal a few things to thing about. Arsenal are making it pretty easy for them, mind - they’re being very “Arsenal” today.
1.26pm BST
40 min: Arsenal win a corner and the delivery fails to clear the first man. Mbemba half clears and the ball’s played wide to Monreal on the right, who drills the ball low towards the far post. Theo Walcott gets a shot off, but can’t get it on target.
1.24pm BST
34 min: On the edge of the penalty area, Alexis Sanchez attempts to thread the ball through to Theo Walcott, but his pass is cleared. It was the conclusion of a move in which various Arsenal players spent quite some time trying to Arsenal their way through the Newcastle defence in that typically frustrating way of theirs. Can you imagine the giant mushroom cloud of pompous and entitled rage over the red half of North London all the way through the international break if they fail to win (or somehow contrive to lose) this match?
1.18pm BST
32 min: Tim Krul dives to his right to save a swerving Alexis Sanchez shot from distance. He fails to hold on to the ball and parries it a yard or two in front of him. Sprinting in to follow up, Theo Walcott somehow contrives to blast the ball wide with the goal gaping. It was a narrowish angle, but he really should have scored.
1.16pm BST
30 min: Arsenal attack on the break and Ramsey attempts to pick out Walcott on the right side of the penalty area. His poor pass is easily cleared.
1.15pm BST
29 min: Sissoko gifts possession to Arsenal in midfield and the London side advance up the right flank, before returning the ball. Sloppy play, from both teams.
1.14pm BST
26 min: With his team already down to 10 men, Thauvin dives in to a challenge Francois Coquelin with his studs up. Yellow card. Newcastle will do well to make it to half-time with 10 men at the rate they’re going: the collective head has been well and truly gone and Mbemba, Thauvin and Sissoko are all on yellow cards, while Colback has also got himself in bother with the referee.
1.11pm BST
26 min: Arsenal win a throw-in, just inside the Newcastle half.
1.10pm BST
24 min: Newcastle get the ball out of their own half for the first time in what seems like ages, with George Wijnaldum trying to hold it up by the corner flag. He’ll do well to keep it there for the next 20 minutes.
1.09pm BST
23 min: Tim Krul claims a Santi Cazorla cross from the left on the edge of his six-yard box.
1.08pm BST
21 min: Now Jack Colback gets involved, as the atmosphere at St James’ Park turns increasingly poisonous - the natives are very restless and their manager Steve McClaren is moaning at the fourth official. Colback takes out Ramsey, but gets away with a long ticking-off from Marriner, who also summons Newcastle skipper Coloccini to tell him to calm his troops down.
1.06pm BST
20 min: Now Chancel Mbemba gets booked after making no attempt to get the ball while challenging Alexis Sanchez.
1.05pm BST
18 min: Newcastle are down to 10 men, after their volatile Serbian striker gets a straight red. Newcastle’s fans are furious with Andre Marriner, but they can have no complaints. While contesting a breaking ball, he stamped on Coquelin’s shin with his studs up and Marriner reached straight for his back pocket.
1.03pm BST
16 min: After getting booked within two minutes of coming on in his first two appearances, Newcastle’s new striker is sent off for stamping his studs into the shin of Francois Coquelin.
1.01pm BST
15 min: A foul on Alexis Sanchez results in a free-kick for Arsenal about 40 yards from the Newcastle goal. Cazorla sends the ball towards the edge of the six-yard box, but Mbemba hooks it clear.
12.59pm BST
13 min: Florian Thauvin, who’s having a bit of a nightmare thus far, is very, very lucky not to concede a penalty. He lets Hector Bellerin get goal side of him as he chases a ball down the inside right and trips him in the Newcastle penalty area. A real let-off for the hosts there.
12.58pm BST
11 min: Aaron Ramsey is put through down the left and shoots straight at Tim Krul, who saves well again. Offside.
12.57pm BST
10 min: With Haidara and Thauvin dozing, Hector Bellerin gets on the end of a ball down the right flank and sends a first time cross into the Newcastle penalty area. Tim Krul is quick off his line and does just enough to prevent Theo Walcott from clipping the ball over his spreadeagled body and into the net.
12.54pm BST
8 min: Florian Thauvin gets a cross in from the left after coming inside on the overlap, but his delivery ricochets off a defender and into the arms of Petr Cech. Mitrovic was the only Newcastle player in the Arsenal penalty area when that ball came in.
12.53pm BST
6 min: Vernon Anita hooks the ball down the field in the general direction of Mitrovic, but he’s unable to turn or hold it up. Arsenal regain possession. It’s pretty scrappy aqt the moment.
12.52pm BST
5 min: After a bright start, Newcastle are a little on the back foot. Oxlade-Chamberlain picks out Walcott roaming around the edge of the penalty area, but Massaidio Haidara clears up at the back for Newcastle.
12.50pm BST
3 min: Moussa Sissoko gets booked for a petulant little stamp on Nacho Monreal.
12.49pm BST
2 min: Arsenal launch what one suspects could be the first of many lightning fast counter-attacks. From the centre-circle, Theo Walcott plays the ball wide to Bellerin, who’d galloped up the right flank, but Newcastle are able to clear. Moments previously, Sanchez and Ramsey had combined, but a loose pass from the Welshman ruined an opportunity to get Ramsey through on goal.
12.47pm BST
1 min: Newcastle get the ball rolling and immediately put Arsenal under the cosh. Aleksandar Mitrovic attemtpts to hold the ball up, but is dispossessed by Hector Bellerin.
12.42pm BST
Fabricio Coloccini leads out the home team, while Santi Cazorla does the honours for the visitors. They both look very relaxed as they chat and joke with one of the mascots, who seems to be telling them a very entertaining story. His anecdote concluded, the players march out and line up for the pre-match formalities.
12.40pm BST
Newcastle will go with a 4-2-3-1, with Floerin Thauvin and Moussa Sissoko bookending Georginio WIjnaldum on the left and right of the three behind Aleksandar Mitrovic. Jack Colback and Vurnon Anita will add steel in front of the back four.
Theo Walcott will play as lone striker for Arsenal, in front of Aaron Ramsey, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (right) and Alexis Sanchez (left) on either side of the Welshman. But y’know, football is chaos, so they all might move around a bit from time to time.
12.25pm BST
12.22pm BST
On his team’s performances thus far: “We’ve been average at home, I think away from home we have done well. We must focus on our performance today.”
On the absence of Mesut Ozil: “It’s a slight injury, but he is not available. He should be back in a week.”
12.05pm BST
As expected, Florian Thauvin starts for the hosts as they attempt to secure their first win of the season under Steve McClaren. The French winger scored one goal and created three others during Newcastle’s midweek win over Northampton in the Capital One Cup and could take some shackling this afternoon if Arsenal squander as much possession in their own half as they did against Liverpool last Monday.
For Arsenal, Per Mertesacker sits this one out with illness, as expected, but Laurent Koscielny has recovered from a back injury and takes his place in the heart of Arsenal’s defence. Mesut Ozil is a conspicuous absentee from the matchday squad and is understood to be suffering from a minor knee injury, while Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlin come into the team that drew against Liverpool.
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