Nick Pope of Newcastle United fouls Viktor Gyoekeres of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Newcastle United at Emirates Stadium on April 25, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)placeholder image
Nick Pope of Newcastle United fouls Viktor Gyoekeres of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Newcastle United at Emirates Stadium on April 25, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Arsenal 1-0 Newcastle United: Eberechi Eze scored the only goal of the game as goalkeeper Nick Pope escaped VAR punishment for a foul on Viktor Gyokeres.
Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League with a 1-0 win over Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium.
Eberechi Eze’s early strike proved to be the difference between the sides as Newcastle remained 14th following a ninth defeat in 12 Premier League matches.
Eddie Howe’s side competed well with Arsenal for the most part but lacked cutting edge in the final third with William Osula and substitute Yoane Wissa both seeing good chances go begging at either end of the game.
Aside from the early goal, a big talking point from the game was an incident which saw goalkeeper Nick Pope, on his return to the Newcastle starting line-up for the first time in two months, charge out of goal and take out Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres.
Pope missed the ball but took out the striker some distance from the goal. Referee Sam Barrott showed Pope a yellow card, much to the dissatisfaction of the Arsenal players and supporters.
There were cheers when the big screen inside the stadium confirmed a red card VAR check following the incident, but the referee’s decision was ultimately upheld and Pope remained on the pitch.
Explaining the decision, which saw Pope booed by the home fans every time he touched the ball for the remainder of the game, the Premier League’s Match Centre released a short statement.
It read: “The referee’s call of yellow card to Pope was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed that he did not deny an obvious goal scoring opportunity (DOGSO) due to the close proximity of a Newcastle defender, who had the possibility to claim possession of the ball.”
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