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Premier League leaders Arsenal had to settle for a goalless draw with the third-placed Newcastle United in their Premier League 2022-23 fixture on Tuesday night at the Emirates Stadium. During the match, the coaches of both the teams, Mikel Arteta and Eddie Howe were involved in a heated argument on the touchline.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was infuriated after his team were denied a couple of penalty appeals in the second half. Firstly, forward Gabriel Martinelli appeared to have his shirt pulled by Dan Burn, and later Granit Xhaka's late cross hit the arm of Jacob Murphy, which sparked a brawl between the two coaches.
Watch the video here:
In the stoppage time, Arteta believed that the Gunners must be awarded a penalty on Jacob Murphy's hand ball in the box, however, the officials denied the calls. Newcastle coach Eddie Howe also felt it shouldn't be a penalty and appeared to confront the Arsenal boss, which provoked the altercation.
Check another angle of the brawl:
In a post-match interview, Howe explained, "Obviously at that stage of the game you're thinking 'god no, the lads have given so much' and that would have been a travesty for us. I didn't think it was a penalty but you just never know. I'm delighted and me and Mikel are fine." However, Arteta called the referees decision 'scandalous' and said, "There were two scandalous penalties. It's a penalty or not a penalty and these are both penalties."
Meanwhile, Arsenal will next face Oxford United on Monday night at the Kassam Stadium in the FA Cup 2022-23 third round fixture followed by their away game against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League 2022-23 on Sunday, January 15.
On the other hand, Newcastle United will travel to the Hillsborough to face Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup third round on Saturday. After that, the Magpies will face Leicester City in the Carabao Cup quarter-final on Tuesday night followed by their Premier League fixture against Fulham on Sunday, January 15.
