Bitter Pul to swallow as Teemu sinks Boro
TONY PULIS was left seething at the officials after Middlesbrough’s unbeaten run came to a shuddering halt at Norwich.
Teemu Pukki hit a lucky winner for the Canaries but the Boro manager was livid at his side not being awarded a penalty when Britt Assombalonga went down under a Christoph Zimmermann challenge.
And Pulis was fuming again when referee Andy Davies reversed his decision to send off centre-half Timm Klose.
The Norwich defender was shown the red card after a second booking for bringing down Assombalonga.
But after flashing the cards referee Davies consulted an assistant, who confirmed the Boro striker had been offside before the foul was given.
Pulis said: “They scored a goal straight after what looked like an absolute penalty to me down the other end when Britt cuts inside.
“Their lad catches Britt on the thigh and he goes down. The referee is in a great, position but doesn’t give it.”
And on the red card incident Pulis added: “That’s the first time I’ve seen that. I still don’t know why they gave it because the linesman never once put his flag up.
“I thought the officials were very poor today overall.”
Boro conceded their first league goal in nine hours and 21 minutes as Norwich became the first team since Millwall on the opening day to find a way past keeper Darren Randolph.
The Canaries created a number of half-chances with Alex Tettey trying his luck and Pukki going close.
And when George Friend deflected Max Aarons’ cross to Pukki, his toe-poke deflected off Ryan Shotton past Randolph from 10 yards.
Norwich boss Daniel Farke said: “Middlesbrough are an unbelievable side with their strength at defending.
“They could win every basketball game because they are so tall.
“To beat them you have to play quick football and be brave in counter-attacking.
“We can’t beat them physically so it is important to be brave and chase the ball and counter-attack.”
UNAI EMERY spent 90 minutes standing in his technical area directing his Arsenal side like an over-zealous conductor.
They still do not quite dance to his tune hence the flapping arms, finger-pointing and wild gestures.
But on the final whistle Emery simply clenched his fists and punched the air after overseeing a third successive win for the Gunners.
He has already succeeded where famed predecessor Arsene Wenger so miserably failed last season with back-to-back victories on the road.
And the result was never in doubt once Mesut Ozil stretched the visitors in the 58th minute after Granit Xhaka had broken the deadlock with a thunderous free-kick soon after the restart.
Newcastle, still without a win this season, seemed resigned to their fate until the dying minutes.
After Petr Cech had brilliantly tipped over a close-range header from Joselu in the 88th minute, Ciaran Clark met Ayoze Perez’s cross with a bullet header past the keeper.
But it was not enough to deny Arsenal, who have climbed into the top half of the table and are now level on points with Tottenham.
Emery, who will resist making major changes in Thursday’s Europa League opener against Vorskla, was quietly pleased with the performance.
He said: “We couldn’t control the game in the first half like we wanted but the balance was much better in the second.
“That first goal made a big difference because it gave us confidence to keep on improving.
“The second goal finished the game. It was important to give a better performances away from home and be more competitive but we must improve.”
A decade ago this weekend Kevin Keegan quit as Newcastle boss for the second time sparking mass protests against owner Mike Ashley which have continued to this day.
There was a pre-match demonstration and chants against Ashley towards the end of the game but manager Rafa Benitez is more focused on sparking the Toon’s season into life.
“It’s a difficult time for us,” he said. “We have to win games.
“The only positive was that, again, we lost by a small margin.”
Benitez has drawn criticism for his negativity this season but there was little wrong with his side’s collective mindset here.
The Magpies, particularly in the opening period, offered an attacking edge which had been absent in their previous meetings against the elite.
Perhaps that is because the Newcastle chief does not place Arsenal in the same bracket as Tottenham, Chelsea and champs Manchester City, all of whom had narrowly beaten the Magpies in recent weeks.
He had a point. Arsenal are still searching for an identity under the new regime and so, not entirely surprisingly, look like a work in progress.
A perfectly timed tackle by Federico Fernandez stopped Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang latching on to Ozil’s through ball and just moments later Alexandre Lacazette’s shot struck the side-netting. But the Gunners’ best chance of the first-half fell to Aaron Ramsey in the 34th minute when Lacazette’s delicious flick opened up the