Anthony Gordon's goal was allowed to stand against Arsenal because of VAR 'loophole'

The reason why Anthony Gordon's goal was allowed to stand against Arsenal has finally been explained.

The Gunners lost 1-0 to Newcastle at St James' Park after Anthony Gordon's highly controversial goal around the hour mark.

New angles have emerged which appear to show the ball went out of play before the ball found its way to Gordon, with VAR concluding that there was 'inconclusive evidence'.

Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta ripped into VAR for their decision to award the goal, branding it a "disgrace" and claiming he was "embarrassed" to be a part of the Premier League during a damning three minute rant.

VAR also checked for a foul on Gabriel Magalhaes in the build-up, before seeing if there was an offside against Gordon, when Joelinton nodded the ball down to him.

The reason has since emerged why Gordon was not ruled offside and the goal was able to stand and it will no doubt infuriate Arsenal fans even more.

According to Sky Sports, the Englishman's goal was allowed to stand because there was ‘no available angle to see the point of contact’ from Joelinton.

In essence, officials were unable to determine when Joelinton last touched the ball, and therefore if Gordon was offside.

Speaking after the game, a visibly enraged Arteta said: "We have to talk about the result because we have to talk about how the hell this goal stand up.

"It’s incredible. I feel embarrassed, but I have to be the one to come in here and try to defend the club and please ask for help because its an absolute disgrace that this goal is allowed. It’s a disgrace.

When asked why is it a disgrace, Arteta responded: "Because it’s not a goal, for many reasons it’s not a goal but for more than one reason at least.

"There's too much at stake here. We put in so much effort it’s so difficult to compete at this level and its an absolute disgrace. I feel embarrassed, I have been more than 20 years in this country and this is nowhere near the level to describe it as the best league in the world."

SPORTbible are on WhatsApp! We've launched a dedicated news channel to send you the latest news, features and plenty more directly on WhatsApp and all you need to do to sign up is click through to our one-way broadcast channel here for 'SPORTbible News' to appear in the 'Updates' tab on your WhatsApp.

Topics: Arsenal, Newcastle United, Football, Premier League, Mikel Arteta, Anthony Gordon

Joe Adams

Joe is a Journalist for SPORTbible with a primary focus on football. He has previously covered a number of other sports including boxing, rugby and F1. Wishes he was born left-footed.

@joeadamsjourno