Eddie Howe says Mikel Arteta VAR rant "overshadowed" Newcastle's win vs Arsenal
Eddie Howe has suggested that VAR controversy - and the reaction to it - overshadowed Newcastle ’s win over Arsenal.
The Magpies ended the Gunners’ unbeaten start to the season as Anthony Gordon’s controversial goal sealed a 1-0 win. However, much of the post-match discussion surrounded Gordon’s goal, rather than Newcastle’s performance.
Mikel Arteta branded the decision to award the winning strike as “a disgrace” and “embarrassing”, with Arsenal releasing a statement to back their manager and demand improved performances from officials. A subsequent review from an independent panel confirmed the goal was correctly awarded, despite protestations over a foul, an offside and the ball possibly going out of play in the build-up.
And Howe has admitted that the furore surrounding the contentious calls from the game has taken away from the praise his side should have received. He said: “I can’t credit the players who we do have who are fit and available and how they’ve attacked the games (enough).
“You go back to Arsenal and I think the only disappointment for me was the VAR incident overshadowed our performance, because when you take into consideration the position we’re in it was absolutely outstanding.
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“The players were magnificent in their commitment and desire to win and our general performance was so strong, so that’s what we need to focus on and try and get right tomorrow.”
Anthony Gordon's goal vs Arsenal was allowed, despite a lengthy check by the VAR (CameraSport via Getty Images)Arteta doubled down on his criticism, insisting he would continue to call decisions out for the good of the club. The incident also cast further scrutiny on the use of VAR in the Premier League.
Howe has revealed he was a sceptic for the introduction of technology and while he has been won over by certain aspects, focus being taken away from the game remains it’s biggest drawback.
“It’s a big subject, VAR in my opinion won’t be going anywhere. I think once the technology is in it’s about trying to get the technology to work in the best way, whatever that is,” Howe said.
“I was reluctant to VAR initially to come in, I was more in favour of letting the referee have the power over decisions. One of my big things was when a player scores and has that instant high of scoring a goal and celebrating, you risk that getting taken away and that sits uncomfortably with me.
“I think there’s been real benefits with VAR, there’s aspects of it that do work but my big thing will be when a game ends it should be about the players, about the football, about what we’ve seen.
“The main focus should not be about the referees or VAR. I think that’s very dangerous, as I say, we beat Arsenal and played very well. I don’t think there was any talk or reaction about how well the team played or individuals within the team and how well they excelled, it was all about one refereeing decision which I think is sad.”
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