FA CUP QUARTER FINALS/Newcastle United...1 Arsenal...1: Arsene Wenger spoke of the problematical nature of making a "definite judgment" on Saturday night. He was talking about Igor Stepanovs but his phrase was applicable to more than just the increasingly convincing Latvian.-
There was this sometimes confusing, if highly entertaining, match to consider, and its replay a week on Saturday. Also, how Arsenal and Newcastle United will play out their season. There is nothing definite about any of it: the beauty is that it is in the hands of the beholders.
A draw solved nothing. For Arsenal it means another 90 minutes of intense activity in a schedule they hope will become ever more crowded and demanding; for Newcastle it brought a recovery of esteem after the previous weekend's defeat by the Gunners and last Wednesday's at Anfield. "We haven't lost to a good team," said Bobby Robson, and you knew what he meant.
Robson said Gary Speed and Kieron Dyer should be available to him by the time of the replay, maybe even Craig Bellamy, though that seemed optimistic.
The prevailing feeling among Newcastle fans was that had Bellamy been alongside Alan Shearer rather than the clearly unfit Carl Cort, Bellamy would have made the difference here.
Arsenal will be expected to progress and that will necessitate a change in their Manchester United fixture at Old Trafford, scheduled for Cup semi-final weekend. That potential title knockout confrontation is likely to move to the Wednesday of the last week of the season.
One thing Arsenal will know is where they are in Europe. Tomorrow night at Highbury they face Deportivo La Coruna in a huge Champions League game. The following Wednesday they go to Turin to meet Juventus.
Wenger said Deportivo could have been lurking in Arsenal's "subconscious" here, and one does not need to be Inspector Morse to detect that those European fixtures might matter a bit more to Wenger than the FA Cup.
That said, Arsenal wanted to win this match. At times Wenger and Pat Rice raged in the dug-out, and had Shay Given not won a 50-50 challenge with Sylvain Wiltord in the second half, Arsenal may have done so.
When Edu had given Arsenal a 14th-minute lead it felt as if that was about to happen. But with young Jamie McClen and the hitherto uninspiring Clarence Acuna battling successfully against Patrick Vieira - "he's a monster," said Robson admiringly - Newcastle fought back and earned a deserved equaliser through Laurent Robert on 51 minutes.
Robert had struck the crossbar earlier when he should have scored but when he ran on to Shearer's flick Robert made amends for several disdainful displays with a fine right-foot shot that Wright may wish to look at again.
NEWCASTLE UNITED: Given, Hughes, Dabizas, O'Brien, Distin, Solano, Acuna, McClen, Robert, Cort (Ameobi 70), Shearer. Subs Not Used: Elliott, Harper, Lua-Lua, Bernard. Booked: Hughes. Goal: Robert 52.
ARSENAL: Wright, Dixon, Campbell, Stepanovs, Lauren, Ljungberg (Pires 58), Vieira, Grimandi, Edu (Bergkamp 61), Kanu, Wiltord. Subs Not Used: Seaman, Tavlaridis, Kolo Toure. Booked: Dixon, Pires. Goal: Edu 14.
Referee: M Halsey (Welwyn Garden City).
