Statement made: Gabriel’s 96th-minute header crowns Arsenal’s defiant comeback at Newcastle

Arsenal refused to bend at a ground that has bruised them repeatedly, coming from behind to beat Newcastle United 2-1 as Gabriel headed a 96th‑minute winner from Martin Odegaard’s corner. Mikel Merino had hauled the visitors level six minutes from time, igniting a furious finale that ended with Mikel Arteta’s team closing the gap to Liverpool to two points.

This was a night of resilience and set‑piece precision. An earlier penalty award for Viktor Gyokeres was overturned after a VAR review and Arsenal later survived a handball check against Gabriel, yet their composure never wavered. They endured Nick Pope’s heroics, the woodwork, and the roar of St James’ Park before their ‘finishers’—Merino and Odegaard—helped flip the script.

Refuse the noise: Arsenal keep their poise through VAR turbulence

The first flashpoint arrived on the quarter-hour when Jarred Gillett pointed to the spot after Pope felled Gyokeres, only to reverse the decision upon consultation and a stadium message that the keeper had played the ball. Arteta was aggrieved, later arguing such interventions should be reserved for clear and obvious errors. Crucially, his players moved on.

Near the end, Anthony Elanga’s cross cannoned off Gabriel’s arm during a slide, but VAR resisted awarding a penalty. Less than ten minutes later, Gabriel settled the contest at the other end. Arsenal’s self-control in the face of those judgments underpinned a performance Arteta described as a statement of who they are.

Eze conducts, Pope resists, and the door finally opens

Eberechi Eze started centrally and restored the fluidity Arsenal have craved, dictating play and twice drawing top-class saves from Pope. Jurrien Timber’s header was clawed away, Bukayo Saka’s cross-shot was beaten out, and Leandro Trossard crashed a first-half effort off the bar. For long spells Arsenal were the better football team, but Pope and a ferocious press made the breakthrough elusive.

Newcastle’s opener came on 34 minutes when Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon worked a short corner for Nick Woltemade to head in, with Raya’s protests about a nudge on Gabriel dismissed. Even then the visitors kept chipping away, and Arteta’s bench became the lever to prise the game open.

Merino returns to haunt St James’ Park and swing momentum

Introduced on 70 minutes, Merino reprised the penalty-area instincts Arteta once tapped into by converting Declan Rice’s delivery from a short corner. The former Newcastle midfielder slipped away from Sven Botman and steered a deft header past Pope to level and tilt the energy irrevocably Arsenal’s way.

With the home defence stretched and Tino Livramento’s injury having forced reshuffles, Arsenal doubled down. Substitute Odegaard delivered a wicked 96th-minute corner to the near post and Gabriel—who had been at fault on the opener and later survived a handball check—timed his leap to guide in a cathartic winner. The defender’s redemption captured the evening’s theme: this team simply refuses to be beaten.

Set-piece wizards and a title-race signal

Two goals from corners, on a ground where Arsenal had lost three straight, underscored their dead‑ball mastery and mental steel. Arteta spoke of a “massive opportunity to make a statement,” and delivered it with assertive changes and a bench that is increasingly decisive. Even pundits judged the visitors deserving winners after a display that married control with relentlessness.

The glass looks more than half full now. Liverpool’s earlier defeat heightened the stakes and Arsenal responded like contenders. They host Olympiakos in midweek before West Ham’s visit, armed with a win forged by patience, precision and a refusal to be defined by officiating storms.