Arsenal experienced their first Premier League defeat of the season at St. James' Park as Newcastle United secured their fourth consecutive home league victory.

Anthony Gordon, scoring his fourth goal of the campaign and impressing England manager Gareth Southgate, sealed the three points for United. Additionally, it marked the eighth clean sheet in all competitions for the Magpies, solidifying their victory.

Before the match, both teams paid tribute to service personnel, past and present, with a minute's silence, and both squads donned poppies on their shirts.

In a heated first half that had limited goal-scoring opportunities but plenty of incidents, Takehiro Tomiyasu and William Saliba saw their shots deflected off target for the Gunners. In the 29th minute, a cleverly executed free kick resulted in a header across the goal by Dan Burn, but Callum Wilson fired over, albeit with the flag raised against Burn.

Tempers flared on several occasions during the opening 37 minutes, culminating in a confrontation between players and the two dugouts when Kai Havertz made a reckless challenge on Sean Longstaff, who was left in pain. Referee Stuart Attwell showed a yellow card and subsequently booked Longstaff, Gordon, and Fabian Schär for protesting.

After the incident, Gordon set up Bruno Guimarães, whose shot from outside the box missed the target. Shortly before halftime, Gabriel Martinelli maneuvered into the box, eluding a desperate tackle from Kieran Trippier but shot directly at Nick Pope.

Burn, with an apparent lower back injury, had to be substituted at halftime, replaced by Tino Livramento. The second half continued in a similar manner, with limited scoring opportunities but a tense atmosphere. However, in the 60th minute, Newcastle took the lead.

Joelinton muscled his way through and found substitute Jacob Murphy, who delivered a cross from a tight angle on the right. Fellow substitute Joe Willock did exceptionally well to keep the ball in play near the opposite corner flag and sent it back into the box, where Joelinton deftly set up Gordon for a close-range finish.

Amidst heavy rain, a peculiar VAR check ensued, with three potential infractions - the ball out of play, a foul, and an offside - all considered and ultimately dismissed before the goal was confirmed.

Murphy had to be substituted due to a seemingly aggravated shoulder injury he sustained against Borussia Dortmund, with Matt Ritchie coming on for his 200th appearance for the Magpies.

Eddie Howe, already missing several key players, will hope that neither Murphy nor Burn faces a long-term absence. Nevertheless, he will be without Guimarães for the upcoming weekend's trip to Bournemouth after the Brazilian received his fifth booking of the campaign late in the match. Despite these challenges, Howe celebrated a second highly impressive win in just four days.