Arsenal 3 Newcastle 2To Arsenal's surprise, it proved no bad thing to have their fate in the hands of a referee.

Mike Riley saw Jermaine Jenas handle a corner kick with 10 minutes to go and Thierry Henry notched the winner by gliding the penalty nervelessly into the centre of the net as Shay Given dived left.

Newcastle United, who had twice equalised, were defeated and the Highbury club consolidated at the top of the table with a relief they cannot have imagined they would experience.

Soccer players have to cultivate a selective memory for the good of morale. Arsenal began as if all they recalled of Sunday's trip to Old Trafford was the satisfaction of a hard-fought 0-0 draw wrenched from the stronghold of their greatest foes.

They performed as if they were in high spirits, and the lead that Henry established after 18 minutes still felt overdue.

The Arsenal manager had made every effort to conserve morale. With Sol Campbell still absent after the death of his father, Arsene Wenger's only adjustment to the line-up employed against Manchester United was the introduction of Sylvain Wiltord for the injured Dennis Bergkamp.

It was the manager's declaration of unswerving approval, no matter how much the rest of the world may scold his men for Sunday's fracas.

All seemed elementary for a while. From the second minute, when Ashley Cole rolled a ball towards goal that Given apprehensively palmed away, it looked as if Arsenal could meander through the Newcastle back four whenever they wished. It took a while for Bobby Robson's side to correct that misapprehension.

Henry forced a save, Wiltord miskicked when presented with Ray Parlour's knockdown and then Arsenal moved in front.

Titus Bramble swung and failed embarrassingly to cut out Lauren's bouncing cross from far out on the right and Henry relished an elementary finish.

As if racing into a hairpin bend, though, the game then careered off in a fresh direction. Newcastle arrived without a victory in the Premiership this season, but the therapeutic effect of the 5-0 victory over NAC Breda in the UEFA Cup on Wednesday began to be felt.

For the remainder of the first-half they outdid Arsenal in passing and movement. It would be unjust to attribute that solely to the thigh injury that saw Patrick Vieira replaced by Edu.

Arsenal, despite a stated intention to be more durable this season, are simply not designed for defence. Newcastle pressure told in the 26th minute when an excellent move saw Alan Shearer release Kieron Dyer behind Martin Keown on the right.

The England international had relished the wide role against Breda and his aptitude for it was highlighted by his exact cutback.

Laurent Robert was present to slide the ball in from close range, ensuring Shearer was no longer the only Newcastle player with a Premiership goal this season.

Having addressed that anomaly, Newcastle hinted they might also devise their opening league win of the season as well.

Jens Lehmann had to display sureness of handling when tested by an attempt from Olivier Bernard. Arsenal's attacks had become sporadic and Wiltord, on his 100th appearance for the club, struggled for sharpness even when Gilberto rolled a ball temptingly in front of him.

By then, Henry's goal had come to look misleading. It had, after all, been Arsenal's first goal in open play for 305 minutes.

The period up to half-time tended to show that the side had not really recovered the efficiency in the penalty area that has been so elusive of late.

Failure, of course, can be a matter of fractional miscalculation. Arsenal had a predatory air in the 55th minute when a rare error from Dyer put them in possession.

Wiltord sent Freddie Ljungberg through on the left and the Swede's clipped shot was a cause of admiration until the instant it hit the near post instead of the net.

It's not only the FA's disciplinary charges that can be a trial. With Newcastle reminiscent of the side who impressed so often last season, Arsenal's resourcefulness in trying to take back controlwas being examined and they also had to deal with the loss of the injured Cole, whose left slot had to be filled by Pascal Cygan.

Arsenal urgently needed to change the character of this game and the timing of Robert Pires's introduction was perfect.

In the 67th minute, Robert was booked for bringing down Ljungberg and the Arsenal substitute delivered the firm free-kick that Gilberto Silva headed home.

They enjoyed the advantage for only four minutes. Then Dyer embarked on a dynamic run and Bernard stole inside Lauren to gather a pass and smash a shot past Lehmann at the near post.

Guardian Service

ARSENAL: Lehmann, Lauren, Toure, Keown, Cole (Cygan 52), Parlour (Pires 62), Silva, Vieira (Edu 25), Ljungberg, Henry, Wiltord. Subs Not Used: Aliadiere, Stack. Goals: Henry 18, Silva 67, Henry 80 pen.

NEWCASTLE: Given, O'Brien, Bramble, Hughes, Bernard, Jenas (Ameobi 89), Bowyer (Speed 72), Dyer, Robert (Ambrose 81), Bellamy, Shearer. Subs Not Used: Griffin, Caig. Booked: Robert. Goals: Robert 26, Bernard 71.

Referee: M Riley (W Yorkshire).