Eberechi Eze's early strike was enough to decide the contest at a nervy Emirates on Saturday as Eddie Howe's side suffered their fifth successive defeat in all competitions.

Beaten in 12 of their last 13 Premier League visits to this part of North London, Newcastle at least gave a better account of themselves than was feared, although the title hopefuls were anything but impressive after going ahead. 

The Magpies will rue missed opportunities to leave with at least a point; Will Osula, Yoane Wissa and Dan Burn all unable to find the target from excellent chances.

Once again however, poor deliveries and decision-making from those in the starting line-up let them down, similar mistakes undermining the effectiveness of the substitutes introduced after a solid defensive performance had kept the hosts largely at bay and the visitors in the game.

An early short corner routine ultimately undid a revamped back line, Burn and Lewis Miley fielded at full-back while Sven Botman and Malick Thiaw continued in the middle.

Two previous flag kicks from the Arsenal right had come to nothing but it was third time lucky for them in the ninth minutes when Eze - left unattended on the edge of the box - beat the recalled Nick Pope with a perfect curling shot.

Pope went on to feature in the game's other talking point,  coming out of his area to completely missing his clearance and foul substitute Viktor Gyokeres in the 75th minute.

To the astonishment arm-waving home boss Mikel Arteta, the onfield award of a yellow card by referee Sam Barrott was ratified by Jarred Gillett on VAR duty: Thiaw deemed likely to recover and clear the ball - meaning the incident wasn't a DOGSO (denial of goalscoring opportunity).

Having netted in his last two starts, Osula kept his place up front and wasted a great opportunity to make it three within the opening 30 seconds - taking Joe Willock's pass but kicking fresh air rather than testing David Raya in the box.

With little sign that Arsenal would add to their single goal advantage and home fans becoming increasingly restless, thoughts of an unlikely equaliser began to emerge among away followers and the noise levels rose accordingly.

Nick Woltemade and Wissa both arrived from the bench and combined well in the 80th minute, only for Wissa to volley over the bar from just outside the six yard box after the German chipped in a clever pass.

Burn then headed straight at Raya as United searched for late equaliser but the hosts eventually made it to the final whistle intact, substitute Bukayo Saka causing some late problems on his return to the side after injury.

Bruno Guimarares was able to start his first game for over 10 weeks and played for 76 minutes before being substituted, his presence instantly making the side more cohesive.

A fourth successive PL defeat saw Newcastle remain in 14th position, eight points clear of the third and final undecided relegation spot with four matches remaining.

Weekend wins for Nottingham Forest, West Ham and Spurs made the lower reaches of the table more congested, with our top-flight status still not mathematically confirmed.

That unlikely disaster may not befall us, but it does look increasingly likely that the Magpies will end this season in their lowest league position for a decade, since finishing 18th in 2015/16.

Arsenal returned to the top of the table by three points, title rivals Manchester City having a game in hand, winning their FA Cup Semi-final across London at Wembley on Saturday.

In what has been a poor league, it's particularly galling that we've become uncompetitive and routinely outfought by mediocre sides giving mundane performances.

That's exemplified by next week's opponents Brighton, eight points ahead in sixth position and dreaming of a possible Champions League place. They will be seeking their third successive win on Tyneside next week - it gets no easier.

Biffa