JOE WILLOCK told Arsenal players the ball went out of play in the build-up to Anthony Gordon’s controversial goal.

The Newcastle winger scored the winner as his side beat the Gunners at St James’ Park on November 4.

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Joe Willock told Arsenal players the ball had gone out in the build-up to Anthony Gordon’s goal

Mikel Arteta escaped FA punishment for his post-match rant

His strike was only awarded after a four-minute VAR check on three possible infringements.

Those included whether Willock had kept the ball in play before crossing it into the box.

Mikel Arteta slammed the match officials after the match, branding the decision to award the goal “a disgrace”.

He was subsequently charged by the FA for his comments, but has now escaped punishment after those charges were dropped.

Arsenal has given its absolute support to its coach in the face of accusations from The FA.

Not only did they take a public stance to express the club’s support, Arsenal even hired a Criminal Lawyer to defend Mikel Arteta during his hearing with the FA.

This lawyer argued that Arteta did not use the word “disgrace” but the word “desgracia” which has a similar pronunciation in Spanish, the two words have completely different meanings.

The final decision of the Independent Committee is described as a slap to the FA and the officials who are targeting Arteta.

Arteta was described as an extremely straightforward and honest person during the hearing. The language Arteta used to describe his emotions did not “cross the line” and was not intended to bring down the referee official.

Arteta uses words to express his feelings about VAR’s shortcomings. After review, Arteta’s statements were assessed as not having a negative impact on the match as alleged.

An investigation into the incident has also revealed Willock told the Arsenal players the ball had gone out.

The Newcastle man had slid to keep it in play before his cross was knocked down by Joelinton for Gordon to score.

It is understood that the Arsenal players then told Arteta that Willock had admitted to failing to keep the ball in play.

This then increased what the Gunners boss described as his “sense of injustice and frustration”.

Arteta had already been angered by the decision not to rule the goal out for offside or a foul by Joelinton after the lengthy VAR check.

Willock spent 17 years with Arsenal prior to his move to Newcastle in 2021.

After coming through the club’s academy, the midfielder scored 11 goals in 78 first-team appearances for the Gunners.