Mikel Arteta: 'VAR has improved significantly since Newcastle United loss'

The Spaniard let rip in his post-game media duties after the Gunners were subjected to their first Premier League defeat of the season at St James' Park, where Anthony Gordon's winner proved decisive.

Three separate VAR checks were needed to confirm Gordon's goal, as Arsenal were adamant that the ball had gone behind for a goal kick, but Joe Willock was adjudged to have kept the attack alive.

Joelinton appeared to have two hands on the back of Gabriel Magalhaes as the ball was swung in, but that incident was also cleared, and a final once-over on whether Gordon was in an offside position ultimately led to the goal standing.

As well as the winger's contentious winner, Arsenal were also aggrieved to see Bruno Guimaraes escape punishment for an apparent elbow on Jorginho's head, although Magpies players felt that Kai Havertz should have been sent off for a crunching lunge on Sean Longstaff, for which he was booked.

An incandescent Arteta labelled the refereeing decisions at St James' Park «embarrassing» and a «disgrace», while also telling journalists in his post-match press conference that he 'felt sick' to see Newcastle's winner given the thumbs-up.

The Spaniard unsurprisingly landed himself in hot water with the FA, who charged him with a breach of Rule E3.1, alleging that his comments amounted to misconduct and were insulting towards the match officials.

However, an Independent Regulatory Commission cleared Arteta of any wrongdoing, concluding that the 41-year-old did not use detrimental language and was instead highlighting general