THE issue I had with VAR last season was that it wasn’t being used correctly.

If they keep to the protocol they have fed to us then it can be successful.

For example, setting a high bar in the number of interventions VAR has and not making the referee look at every single decision and having to go over to the screen on every single occasion, which slows the game down.

At the moment, the law is you’re either offside or you’re not — so that in itself you cannot really argue about.

Whether you are two inches offside or one yard offside, you are offside. That’s the law at this moment in time whether you agree with it or not.

What would be a massive improvement for me would be if the fans could actually hear what the referee is hearing from the VAR officials.

After all, the fans pay the money to be inside the stadium and watch their team play, so if they can hear why the referee or the VAR official has come to a particular decision then that would benefit everyone.

If they know why the decision has been made and they can hear it then it would give them a better understanding of what’s going on.

At the minute they have to rely on waiting and they haven’t got a clue. They’re in a stadium and should know what’s going on.

I know they eventually find out on the big screen, but it would really be helpful to hear the decision-making process as to how they have got there.

You don’t need to have the ref walking to the middle of the pitch to talk to VAR — you just need to hear why.

It’s the same for the players. They, too, are unsure as to how and why a decision has been made.

I don’t think we are at the stage yet where we can have the VAR’s decision making up on the big screen.

For a start there are some grounds that don’t have big screens, so that’s an issue in itself.

TOON STRUGGLE

It’s a disappointing start for Newcastle. I thought it was a poor performance.

They lacked a goal threat and only had two efforts on target — one in the first half and one in the 83rd minute, which is a bit of a lame effort.

But other than that they never looked like scoring, so it was a disappointing start for Toon boss Steve Bruce.

They did look organised in the first half. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had one opportunity and Henrikh Mhkitaryan had another one but they looked reasonably solid.

From a Newcastle perspective; they need £40million centre- forward Joelinton to hit the ground running and score as quickly as possible.

But, especially in the first half, he and Miguel Almiron played too far apart from each other and weren’t effective.

They had one or two neat touches and Joelinton was unlucky with an effort in the first half.

He was feeding off scraps all afternoon. There was no real quality or crosses going into the box or even long balls up to him.

The Brazilian didn’t really have that partnership with Almiron you need — the Paraguayan was being forced to drop deeper than he wanted to because of Arsenal’s midfield five.

It’s just disappointing from Bruce’s point of view they couldn’t get an early point on the board.

I didn’t see too many protests in the stadium. There were about 47,000 people there at St James’ Park — so there were around 5,000 missing.

The fans were behind Steve and that’s good to see but their issue isn’t with him, it’s with the ownership. That’s been their issue and I totally get that.

Arsenal will always have a goal threat. I don’t think scoring goals will be an issue for them this season.

From a Newcastle perspective; they need £40million centre- forward Joelinton to hit the ground running and score as quickly as possible.

Aubameyang shared the Golden Boot last year with Sadio Mane and Mo Salah and will probably be going for it again.

I was slightly surprised none of Unai Emery’s new signings were in the starting XI but it proved to be the right call because they got the three points.

My concern is still defensively, even with David Luiz in there, in terms of how they will cope under serious pressure.

Aubameyang’s finish was fantastic. I was watching it with Paul Scholes and Ian Wright in a studio and we all said how good it was.

His first touch with the outside of the foot, then the finish to just lift it over the keeper was exemplary, absolutely fantastic, and that’s basically what Newcastle lacked.

TOP TWO LOOK SUPERB

The top two have put down some big markers this weekend.

Against Norwich, Liverpool played well, scored four goals and should have had more but didn’t look great defensively.

Man City breezed past West Ham like they normally do and made it look easy at times.

You can’t forget about Spurs, either, who found it difficult against a resilient Aston Villa but managed to get the three points.

City and Liverpool will battle it out for the title, while I feel Spurs will again be the best of the rest. Chelsea, United and Arsenal should be going for fourth, fifth and sixth.

Liverpool only lost one game last season so they’ve been on an incredible run but they have some tricky games coming up with Chelsea and Arsenal in their next five matches.

I just hope we have something similar to what we had last year because the standard of football we had from City and Liverpool was magnificent.

I’d be surprised if it was anyone other than those two who go on to win the title.

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