ANTHONY GORDON has admitted he was as flummoxed as the rest of St James’ Park as around five minutes of VAR checking preceded the award of his match-winning goal against Arsenal.

Gordon scored the only goal of the game last night as he stabbed home from close range in front of the Gallowgate End, but three separate VAR checks meant he was unable to properly celebrate in the immediate aftermath of his strike.

VAR officials checked whether the ball had gone out before Joe Willock crossed it into the middle, whether Joelinton had fouled Gabriel and whether Gordon had been in an offside position when he found the net from inside the six-yard box, but eventually allowed the goal to stand.

Eddie Howe felt the final decision was the right one; Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta vehemently disagreed. Gordon, on the other hand, freely admits he did not have a clue what was going on.

“I’d just been put to play as striker, so I was in the box,” said the January signing from Everton. “There were a few ricochets – I thought Joelinton was going to score – then as it dropped, I just tried to react quickest. Fortunately, I did.

“As far as the VAR was concerned, I was just praying – I didn’t know what was going on. In the end, I was just really happy that it got approved.”

READ MORE:

Gordon was switched to the centre-forward spot when Callum Wilson was withdrawn, having also led the line in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.

The 22-year-old played as a central striker during England Under-21s’ successful run at the European Championships last summer, and while he might have spent the majority of his career playing in a wide position, he has proved he is a more than capable deputy as a ‘number nine’.

“It’s been really good,” he said of his positional switch. “I’m comfortable playing there. I’ve got to play it a unique way because I’m quite different to the strikers we’ve got already, but I feel really comfortable. I played there in the summer (for England Under-21s) so I’m just trying to add my own little bit of flair to that position.”

Last night’s victory over a previously unbeaten Arsenal completed an excellent week that also saw Newcastle set up a Carabao Cup quarter-final tie against Chelsea.

“The last ten days has shown the unity and togetherness that we’ve got,” said Gordon. “We had some really difficult fixtures, and we’ve got through them together. A lot of players are injured, a lot of players are struggling, but we’re sticking together and we’re getting through the games.”