Mikel Arteta dismissed VAR annulled Emile Smith Rowe’s red card with the young protagonist’s victory in Newcastle

Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta was grateful that VAR was in operation for the 2-0 win over Newcastle in the FA Cup and praised the growing importance of Emile Smith-Rowe.

The 20-year-old proved the difference for the champion and opened the scoring on 109 minutes after the tie went into extra time.

It could have been a different ending for the Smith-Rowe academy graduate if the assistant video referee had not told referee Chris Kavanagh to review a decision well in time of suspension.

Smith-Rowe was sent off for a foul on Newcastle’s Sean Longstaff, but after the field monitor was used, he was demoted to yellow and the young man made the most of his suspension to help the Gunners until the fourth round.

Only nine of the 32 draws this weekend will have VAR – those played on Premier League fields.

And Arteta said: ‘I was going crazy because when I saw the action on TV, I didn’t think he could be kicked out, but thank goodness the regulators decided to have VAR and today it worked the way it should, so I’m so happy for having this.

‘We believe in Emile, he is doing very well. He is growing and becoming increasingly important in the team.

‘Today he showed it again by the way he entered, by the personality with which he played and we asked him to stay more in the area, another threat to the goal and he scored a very important goal for us.’

Smith Rowe was the first person Arteta turned to the bench after an hour of drab play at Emirates Stadium, where the odds were slim.

Their presentation, along with Bukayo Saka and Granit Xhaka at the end of the semester, helped Arsenal start defending the title with a 2-0 victory.

Captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had been a peripheral figure before Arteta called up the cavalry, but he scored his sixth goal of the season with a 117-minute final shot from the center of Kieran Tierney.

It was another positive aspect for the starters, but they suffered a blow before the kick-off when Gabriel Martinelli, who recently returned from a serious knee injury, suffered an ankle problem in the warm-up and was forced to stay out after being called up. the initial XI.

Arteta admitted: ‘I’m gutted. I was in my office before the game and one of the coaches came in and said that Gabi was injured and sprained his ankle.

‘I went to the doctor’s office and he was in tears and in great pain. We’ll have to see how he’s doing. It didn’t look good, he was in pain, so I imagine that we won’t have good news with him. ‘

Martinelli will sweep, but is expected to miss Thursday’s home game against Crystal Palace in the Premier League.

“It’s his character that he wants to play the next game, that he doesn’t care about and can deal with the pain,” said Arteta.

‘I hope there is nothing too serious, but it didn’t look good to start with.’

Steve Bruce was unable to hide his disappointment at a missed opportunity for Newcastle, with Andy Carroll guilty of wasting two excellent opportunities.

Geordie scored his first goal for the club in 10 years during his home defeat last weekend to Leicester and could have added to his first count in the 56th minute when he deflected a Jeff Hendrick cross and missed a shot. even better chance in the additions when he failed to beat Bernd Leno at point-blank range.

Bruce said: ‘When you come here, especially for a World Cup qualifier, and when you are presented with the opportunities we had, you hope you can take advantage of them.

‘I couldn’t be more satisfied with the way they did their job, but we needed to take advantage of the great opportunity when it came.

‘No one is more disappointed than Andy for not getting one, but his overall game and the way he led the line was excellent. It would have crowned him a great week. ‘