BREAKING NEWS: The head of Newcastle United says something about Bruno Guimaraes that Arsenal might not agree with.
Arsenal is playing Newcastle United this evening with the intention of exacting retribution for the rough match that happened at St James’ Park three months ago.
November saw Eddie Howe’s team defeat the Gunners 1-0, but the game was marred by controversy when the Premier League’s Independent Key Match Incidents Panel decided Anthony Gordon’s winning goal could stand despite pointing out two missed red cards.
Gordon’s striker was the subject of three different VAR checks in the 64th minute. The first three checks were for whether Joelinton had fouled Gabriel, if Joe Willock had kept the ball in play throughout the build-up, and whether Gordon had been offside. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta called the decision to let the score stand “absolute disgraceful.”
The Premier League and PGMOL each have a representative on the panel, which consists of five people: three former players and/or coaches and one each from the Premier League and PGMOL.
By a vote of 4 to 1, their conclusions were that “even though Joelinton touches Gabriel, there isn’t enough evidence to call a foul because Gabriel made a play to play the ball before any contact.” According to the tribunal, there was insufficient evidence to deny the goal based on the two factual infractions of “ball out of play” and “possible offside.”
The panel agreed that, despite Arsenal’s indignation, the visitors were fortunate to have kept 11 players on the field after Kai Havertz tackled Sean Longstaff with a flying kick in the first half. They concluded that it was “the kind of tackle that needs to be eradicated and a very dangerous challenge.” However, Newcastle also managed to escape punishment, as three panelists thought Bruno Guimaraes ought to have been dismissed for punching José Gerrinho in the head shortly after.
The Brazilian is anticipated to be the focus of attention tonight at the Emirates, and considering the outcome of the last encounter, Arsenal may not agree with Howe’s pre-match evaluation of the midfield player, who talked about finding the appropriate balance.
Howe stated: “I think he got that balance right in the home game when he was very competitive but he was always very brilliant technically. You need your creative players to fire and you need your defensive players to fire as well in a different way. Really, we need to fire every player in every department.
Guimaraes, who is still dealing with the possibility of a two-match suspension, will start against the Gunners. In the 3-2 loss to Manchester City on January 13, he received his ninth yellow card of the season in the Premier League; however, he has not received a caution in the four league games since.
Howe exclaimed, “He has handled it really well, so fan.” “He has been acting normally; he hasn’t, in my opinion, appeared to be playing with consciousness because I don’t think he is capable of doing so. But he’s performed admirably for the squad and played with discipline.”
Guimaraes will automatically be suspended for two matches if he receives a tenth booking prior to Tottenham Hotspur’s March 13 visit to St James’ Park. This means that Guimaraes will need to avoid problems in each of Newcastle’s next seven league games.
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