Graham Poll compounded one controversial sending-off with another here last night and then completed an eventful evening by awarding Newcastle United a bitterly disputed penalty from which Alan Shearer scored for the first time at Highbury to end his team's barren four years in London and raise them to the top of the Premiership.
And Arsenal's Thierry Henry looks certain to face an FA charge after police officers and players from both teams struggled to physically restrain him from confronting Poll.
Having dismissed, somewhat harshly, Arsenal's Ray Parlour for a second bookable offence towards the end of the first half the Tring referee had given Newcastle's Craig Bellamy a straight red card late in the game when it seemed doubtful whether any offence had been committed.
True, Bellamy's outstretched arm did make contact with Ashley Cole's throat as the Arsenal defender challenged him from behind but the impact hardly amounted to very much. Bellamy, who had just returned from suspension, could hardly believe it.
A failure to win in the capital over the course of 29 games suggested that Newcastle were hardly football's Dick Whittingtons. It seemed that only their stomachs turned at the sound of Bow Bells.
Arsenal's brisk, pragmatic football aimed to utilise the pace of Thierry Henry against the Newcastle centre-backs, Andy O'Brien and Nikolaos Dabizas.
The combination of Patrick Vieira's overall command, Ray Parlour's aggression, Sylvain Wiltord's penetration and the visionary skill of Robert Pires gave Arsenal a broad and varied basis from which to create scoring opportunities. All they had to do was take them. Profligacy in front of goal has plagued Arsene Wenger's team all season. So much depends on Henry taking an acceptable proportion of his chances, and on a decent share of the chances falling to Henry. Last night the first two fell to Nwankwo Kanu, and he missed them.
After five minutes Lauren set up Sylvain Wiltord for a centre from the right that saw Kanu rise beyond the defence only to head the ball over the bar. Then 12 minutes later Henry's pass from the left found Parlour surging through a gap but his first touch was poor and gave Dabizas time to get in a covering tackle. Kanu then wafted the loose ball into the crowd.
Not that a goal for Arsenal was long delayed. With 20 minutes gone Henry, shielding the ball from O'Brien near the right-hand byline, flicked it on to his instep before hooking a cross back over his head. Pires was barged out of the way as he tried to reach it in the air but turned a shot past Shay Given after Ashley Cole had played the ball back low from the left.
At least Newcastle came off at half-time holding a numerical advantage in terms of personnel. Having cautioned Parlour for catching Dabizas with an elbow in the 24th minute Poll sent the Arsenal man off in the 44th minute for tripping Shearer.
Parlour's challenge was mild but having failed to stop Shearer with one lunge from behind he did catch the striker's trailing leg with another. It was Parlour's second red card of the season (he was also sent off at Middlesbrough on the opening day) and Arsenal's seventh, bringing to 39 the number of dismissals accrued during Wenger's five years as manager.
Up to this point Bobby Robson's attack had amounted to little more than Alan Shearer running into cul-de-sacs and Craig Bellamy into opponents. Five minutes into the second half they did draw blood but only from the head of Martin Keown after a collision with Shearer.
With Sol Campbell and the head-bandaged Keown holding firm Arsenal still looked solid at the back. Nevertheless, Newcastle drew level on the hour when O'Brien caught the defence out by darting to the near post to head in a corner from Lomana Lua Lua, who had been on the field only two minutes.
Newcastle now strongly fancied their chances. But they looked to have gone when they lost Bellamy to the game's second, and even more controversial, sending-off.
The Gunners took charge again but then with six minutes left Robert scampered clear through the middle and, although Campbell's recovery tackle looked good, Poll pointed to the spot and Shearer crashed the ball home.
Robert's runaway strike at the death sealed matters and left Arsenal total despair - but Newcastle at the top of the tree.
Newcastle needed to win by two clear goals to move above Liverpool in the table, which they duly did.
ARSENAL: Taylor, Lauren, Campbell, Keown, Cole, Pires, Parlour, Vieira, Henry, Kanu (van Bronckhorst 45), Wiltord (Bergkamp 67). Subs Not Used: Grimandi, Upson, Stack. Sent Off: Parlour (44). Booked: Parlour, Vieira, Campbell. Goal: Pires 20.
NEWCASTLE UTD: Given, Hughes, O'Brien, Dabizas, Elliott (Robert 58), Dyer (Distin 86), Solano (Lua-Lua 58), Bernard, Speed, Shearer, Bellamy. Subs Not Used: Harper, McClen. Sent Off: Bellamy (72). Booked: Speed, Bellamy, O'Brien. Goals: O'Brien 60, Shearer 86 pen, Robert 90.
Referee: G Poll (Tring).
