Newcastle and Arsenal play out a 0-0 draw after a bad-tempered affair that saw the Gunners reduced to ten men.
Arsenal dominated the first half with Gervinho proving to be a potent outlet. Unfortunately his clever approach play was rarely matched by his final ball with Robin van Persie often left frustrated in the penalty area. The Dutchman did have a couple of opportunites to open the scoring, most notably when played through by a delightful chip by Andrei Arshavin only to be thwarted by some excellent defending from Steven Taylor.
Newcastle got themselves into the game in the second half though most of the incident was of an ugly rather than goalscoring nature. Alex Song should have seen red for a stamp on Joey Barton before Gervinho did get his marching orders after appearing to slap the controversial Englishman after the latter took umbrage with the Ivorian going to ground too easily. However, Newcastle were unable to make the one-man advantage and the match ended goalless.
First Half Highlights:
Song challenge on Barton
Gervinho red card
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