An action-packed encounter with no shortage of controversy, it took until the 96th minute for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal to complete a pretty spectacular comeback against Newcastle United. Gabriel Magalhaes rose the highest in the Magpies’ box late on to seal all three points. In his post-match interview, Bukayo Saka didn’t mince his words as he slammed the standard of officiating in the Premier League as he referenced an earlier refereeing decision.
Nick Woltemade opened the scoring for Eddie Howe and his entourage shortly after referee Jarred Gillett overturned his decision to award Arsenal a penalty after a collision between Viktor Gyokeres and Nick Pope. Mikel Merino, in the 84th minute, latched onto Declan Rice’s teasing delivery to give the visitors a slide of hope. Gabriel then rounded off a brilliant display.
Despite getting three additional points on the board when it began to look highly unlikely, with them now just behind table-topping Liverpool, Saka and Co were still not very pleased with how Gillett officiated the St James’ Park-based affair – and the 24-year-old did not hold back in his post-match assessment when he was asked on his take of the first-half incident.
Saka Slams Premier League Officiating in Post-Match Interview
Arteta’s men thought they had the perfect opportunity to gain an early lead against the Magpies as Gyokeres, signed from Sporting CP in the summer, bared down on goal and pounced on Jacob Murphy’s poor back pass to the Newcastle goalkeeper. Pope rushed out off his line and clattered into the Swede; Gillett instantly pointed to the spot to the dismay of the Newcastle supporters.
In the wake of his side’s victory, which topped off a pretty comfortable September, Saka said:
“Obviously, there’s a few things we can speak about. For example, the penalty. For me, if we have VAR, it’s for clear and obvious errors, and the fact that it took the referee that long to decide shows it’s not a clear and obvious error. It’s things like this, these little things that always go against us. But I think today, we got what we deserved for sure. That’s why we are all so happy.”
The Sky Sports reporter then mentioned to the England star about the face he pulled when Gillett overturned his initial decision of a penalty. “Speechless, man. But it doesn’t matter now, does it?
