Arsenal (H) player ratings: A near impossible choice for POTM between two 10/10 powerhouses

Newcastle United became the first team to defeat Arsenal in the Premier League via a highly controversial Anthony Gordon goal.

You know what they say, "It doesn't matter how they go in, as long as they go in". Never a truer word spoken after what happened yesterday. VAR tried their hardest but they just couldn't find a solid enough reason to rule out Anthony Gordon's 64th-minute strike.

Mikel Arteta had plenty of cause to whinge, which the Arsenal boss took with both hands, but at the end of the day, his side simply didn't do enough to win regardless of our goal.

This was one of Eddie Howe's best wins at Newcastle

Serena Taylor/Newcastle United

Nick Pope – 7

Surely one of the easiest clean sheets of Pope's career, with our giant stopper only being called into action to save a tame effort from Gabriel Martinelli that was straight down his throat. He came under very little pressure otherwise, thanks to the performances in front of him.

Kieran Trippier – 8

Tripps gave Martinelli next to no time on the ball in the opening period and looked totally unfazed by being switched to left-back at half-time. He dealt with Bukayo Saka superbly thereafter and was back to his imperious best in possession.

Jamaal Lascelles (c) – 10

Six clearances, three blocked shots, and two tackles were the story of Lascelles' display, but it doesn't do enough to describe just how good he was. He was absolutely vital in the latter stages, in particular, and his distribution has improved so much under Howe.

Fabian Schär – 9

Schär played an almost faultless game, even though he was outshone by his centre-back partner on this occasion. It was his trademark ping over the top for Joelinton that led to the winner, though his long-passing radar had been slightly off prior to that.

Dan Burn – 7

Forced off at the interval due to a back injury suffered when landing awkwardly after a header, but had done well enough up to that point against Arsenal's most dangerous player.

Sean Longstaff – 8

This was one of those games where he was massive for us off the ball but rarely involved in our attacking play. Completed just 24 passes, but supported his teammates relentlessly and must have covered more ground than anyone bar perhaps Joelinton.

Bruno Guimarães – 8

Our little Brazilian was pivotal to the victory but lost his head on more than one occasion, which could have cost us dearly had the referee not been totally useless. His use of the ball was supreme, but a silly yellow card means he'll be missing at Bournemouth.

Joelinton – 10 ⭐️

After a couple of rusty performances following his return from injury, our big Brazilian is back to his absolute best. The thing is, his 'absolute best' just keeps getting better. He seemingly made it his personal mission to carry us to three points here and was key to the winner.

Miguel Almirón – 8

Miggy backed up his tremendous display at Old Trafford with another good performance here, in which he pressed aggressively, used the ball well, and looked our biggest chance of making a breakthrough until he ran out of energy and was brought off for Murphy.

Callum Wilson – 7

Had a very tough assignment playing solo up against the superb Gabriel Magalhães and William Saliba, but didn't shirk the battle and occupied them throughout. He didn't have a sniff of goal, though, and caused a few of our more promising moves to break down.

Anthony Gordon – 9

He deserved the winning goal for yet another performance full of intensity and threat. The fact it came moments after he was moved to striker should do him the world of good, too, as he might need to play there a lot more often in the future. He's just consistently excellent.

The Willock/Murphy double substitution paid off instantly

Serena Taylor/Newcastle United

Tino Livramento – 8

This wasn't an easy contest to come into, but he certainly made it look like he was. We can't wait to see more of Tino in the first team and it seems that he may now have his chance to nail down a starting place. 'Tino, Tino, Tino!'

Joe Willock – 7

Substitutes are there to make an impact and that's exactly what Willockinho did. His desire to keep the ball in for the goal was great, as was the delivery for Joelinton that followed.

Jacob Murphy – 7

Only lasted 16 minutes due to his shoulder popping out of its socket again, but played a large part in the goal and helped to rejuvenate our attack in his brief time on the pitch.

Matt Ritchie – 7

What a week it's been for Ritchie. He didn't even get a minute of pitch time in August, September, or October, and now he's played his part in two famous victories. Defended valiantly here, particularly from set pieces, which was even a shock to Howe.

Next up for the Magpies

Serena Taylor/Newcastle United

It's the return game with Borussia Dortmund in Group F of the Champions League at Signal Iduna Park (the Westfalenstadion).

Don't be caught out by the time; we're kicking off 5.45 p.m. on Tuesday evening in a game that will be shown live on TNT Sports 1.

Howay the lads!