AS has now become the norm at Newcastle United, another unwanted distraction led to a remarkable Premier League victory through a goal which further boosted Andy Carroll’s England claims.

The last few weeks have been full of controversy off the pitch, with Carroll’s late night antics, and manager Chris Hughton’s future, constant topics of debate locally and nationally.

But just as they did at West Ham United and against Sunderland, Newcastle exceeded expectations by displaying the unity and ability to beat the Premier League title hopefuls.

Carroll might have again been late night partying – he was alleged to have ended up with women at Kevin Nolan’s house in the early hours of last Monday morning – but his prowess in front of goal continues to catch the eye for the right reasons.

In front of England manager Fabio Capello, who Arsene Wenger suggested should call up the Gateshead goalscorer for international duty, Carroll’s sixth goal of the season, a perfect header, secured a priceless win.

As the celebrations on the pitch took place in front of the Newcastle fans in North London, where they had not won in the league since 2001, Carroll headed for the tunnel, receiving the support and the gratitude of his team-mates.

It would have been quite easy for Hughton to take him out of the spotlight after yesterday morning’s tabloid headlines. Instead he stuck by him, again, and the rewards, again, arrived in abundance.

While there was no tinkering with the starting line-up that smashed five past Sunderland, Hughton’s more coveted counterpart did opt to mix it up slightly.

Wenger decided to bring back Jack Wilshere from suspension at the expense of Andrey Arshavin, whose absence meant the final Arsenal player to have started all 11 Premier League matches this season was left out.

While Newcastle found space and wasted possession in good areas a couple of times, Arsenal soon found their feet and through Wilshere and Cesc Fabregas put pressure on the visiting defence.

But the tactics Hughton adopted, getting bodies behind the ball and looking to break on the counter attack, had the desired effect.

With the exception of Fabregas’ curled free-kick from 25 yards deflecting off the wall, bouncing off the crossbar and forcing goalkeeper Tim Krul to tip over, Newcastle’s solidity frustrated the Gunners.

Arsenal’s Spanish skipper also had an opportunity to test Krul when he broke into the Newcastle box and turned a couple of his markers, before watching his shot deflect for a corner.

The reality, however, was that Krul had not really been posed a serious threat, with Newcastle gaining in confidence as the opening half developed.

Arsenal had completed more shots on target than any other team in the top-flight, and Newcastle’s miserly approach was illustrated by the home team’s lack of efforts on goal.

Fabregas did break into the box and beyond Jose Enrique, only to shoot into the side netting, as half-time approached, which proved the start of a heavy spell of pressure.

From the corner, Arsenal did find the target, but found Krul in exceptional form.

Shay Given had performed admirably in North London for the Magpies, but Krul’s flying, right-handed save to deny Samir Nasri’s first time shot, which was destined for his top left corner, was as good as anything produced by the Irishman.

If there was something lacking from Newcastle’s display in the first 45 minutes it was purely the lack of threat posed to the Arsenal defence.

Seconds before the whistle, though, that all changed.

Carroll, predictably given his recent displays, was picked out as he stood 12 yards out in the penalty area. Lukasz Fabianski, the Arsenal goalkeeper, rushed out and lost in the aerial stakes to Carroll, whose cushioned header dropped into the unguarded net.

With attacking talents in the mould of Robin van Persie, Tomas Rosicky, Nicklas Bendtner and Arshavin to introduce from the bench, it should have been a difficult finale for Newcastle.

And within seven minutes of the restart, Walcott had hit the crossbar with a deflected cross and a rasping drive, even before Danny Simpson moved ahead of Marouane Chamakh as he lurked in the six-yard box.

That was effectively Chamakh’s final contribution after a frustrating afternoon, with Van Persie and Arshavin introduced within two minutes of each other to try to change the game.

If anything, though, Arsenal’s attempts to save things by Wenger’s demands to throw more players forward actually helped Newcastle find more gaps at the opposite end.

Hughton encouraged his players to become more expansive and they regularly found good areas of the pitch to exploit, which caught Arsenal by surprise.

Through Mike Williamson, when he jumped at the back post with Carroll, a second almost arrived.

The defender’s header from Barton’s corner, however, dropped a yard wide.

For Newcastle to retain their advantage it was more about standing tall at the back than trying to gain rewards further forward, particularly when Bendtner was asked to be a fifth attacker 17 minutes from time.

Whatever Arsenal tried, Newcastle found a way to block.

That was typified when Arshavin, cleverly, worked his way around Simpson before Fabregas’ diving header arrived safely in the arms of Krul.

In the final ten minutes there was very little extra for Krul to worry about.

In fact, the frustration among the Arsenal fans only intensified when Laurent Koscielny was red-carded in injury-time.

Referee Mike Dean had little choice but to send the young defender off.

Nile Ranger, a late substitute for Ameobi, was pulled back after a terrific turn on the byline from the striker.

Whether Arsenal ended with ten men or 11 should not detract from Newcastle’s achievements and ability to hold on to their advantage, with expectations for the campaign rising on Tyneside.