Andy Carroll headed Newcastle to its first victory over Arsenal in five years on Sunday, withstanding fresh off-field turmoil to clinch a 1-0 victory in the Premier League.
Carroll rose above Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski to head Joey Barton's deep free kick into the net on the stroke of half time.
''What he showed today is the ability he's got - of course what he does have is the prowess in the air,'' Newcastle manager Chris Hughton said. ''But he showed also the running ability he's got. He's still learning the game, he's getting better.
''He's had his ups and downs and he gets bullied at times, all of these things, but he's certainly going in the right direction.''
Carroll secured a third successive league win for the promoted side hours after a tabloid newspaper published allegations about his private life.
The 21-year-old striker was fined last month for attacking a man in a nightclub and has been charged with assaulting a former girlfriend.
Selecting Carroll, though, was never an issue for Hughton, having seen the Englishman now score six goals in 11 matches to help Newcastle move to fifth in the standings - three points behind third-place Arsenal.
''I made a selection today based on the continuity that we've had in the last couple of games,'' Hughton said. ''We got confidence from that.''
Despite having more shots on target, Arsenal went down for the second time this season to a promoted side, having been beaten by West Bromwich Albion in September.
A looping free kick from Cesc Fabregas hit the cross bar and the captain, who was returning from a hamstring injury, set up Samir Nasri for a shot before half time that Trim Krul pushed over with a one-handed save.
At the start of the second half, Arsenal came close again. Theo Walcott collected Jack Wilshere's pass and fired in an angled drive, which hit the underside of the crossbar with Krul beaten.
''I think against West Brom we were complacent - I don't think we were today,'' Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. ''We played against a good Newcastle team, strong physically and mature. I still believe we were unlucky to lose the game. They had one shot on target.''
The goal Arsenal conceded, though, raised fresh doubts about Fabianski's proficiency, with the Polish goalkeeper racing off his line and losing the aerial contest with Carroll.
''(Fabianski) had not a lot to do today,'' Wenger said. ''He was a bit, maybe, too confident to take this ball and didn't expect to be challenged. It was a problem of timing.''
The Gunners had Laurent Koscielny sent off in stoppage time after the defender fouled Nile Ranger on the edge of the penalty area.
''It was not a sending off because it was not a goal scoring opportunity and he wasn't a last man,'' Wenger said.
But there was some positive news for the London side, with Robin van Persie coming off the bench in the 57th - as Marouane Chamakh's replacement - to make his first appearance since injuring his left ankle on Aug. 28.
''You could see he is not ready,'' Wenger said. ''We pushed him in too early because I had to do something. It was difficult for us to score and you always expect from a set piece anywhere he can make a difference.''
