Newcastle eye silverware after outclassing Arsenal
Newcastle are a step closer to ending a 70-year wait for silverware after beating Arsenal in the League Cup semi-final. Pic: AP Photo/Jon Super
NEWCASTLE are heading back to Wembley and fittingly it was a man born in the shadow of the famous arch that set them on their way.
The quest to end a 70-year wait for major domestic silverware is now just one step away for Eddie Howe's side after they emphatically completed the task they had so impressively started at the Emirates Stadium last month.
Jacob Murphy will be heading 'home' on March 16 after the Wembley-born midfielder's first-half goal effectively ended Arsenal's hopes of staging the kind of comeback seen only once at this stage of the competition in the last 30 years.
Anthony Gordon joined in the fun, matching his goal in the first leg with another early in the second-half to really get the party started, one which continued long into the night as the Magpies gear-up for their second Carabao Cup final appearance in three seasons. There was nothing fortunate about this win, Arsenal were outclassed in both legs.
Liverpool or Tottenham await, and for their part, let's hope Newcastle turn up this time, as they so palpably didn't when they froze against Manchester United in 2023.
In the end, they eased through at a canter as they beat the Londoners for a third time this season, all without conceding a goal. Against largely toothless opponents who underlined the paucity of their attacking options who barely laid a glove on them, the contest could almost have been over inside five minutes when the hosts looked to have added to their two-goal first-leg lead through the impressive Alexander Isak.
Newcastle's top scorer was put clean through on goal by Sandro Tonali's inviting pass over the top, and made no mistake with a thumping angled drive past David Raya into the top corner. Celebrations were swiftly cut short as VAR intervened to check on a marginal offside against the Sweden forward, which to Newcastle's dismay was upheld to chalk-off the effort.
It almost became a double whammy for the hosts when Arsenal should have taken the lead on the night midway through the first-half. Referee Simon Hooper played a fine advantage after Kai Havertz was fouled on the edge of the box as the ball ran invitingly for Martin Odegaard. The Gunners' skipper really ought to have found the net but his shot from 18 yards grazed the outside of Martin Dubravka's post in a huge let-off for the hosts and a massive turning point for the whole tie.
Newcastle more than made the most of their slice of luck by taking the lead less than 30 seconds after Odegaard's pivotal miss.
Isak was again at the heart of another swift attack, evading Arsenal's centre-back from Gordon's pass, and although his fine curling effort came back off the inside of Raya's right-hand post with the keeper comprehensively beaten, Murphy was perfectly positioned to follow in and fire the ball into an empty net. There was no VAR-related escape this time for Mikel Arteta's side this time and they knew their race was all-but run.
Dubravka was forced into a fine save at his near post to keep out a close-range Leandro Trossard effort in a timely reminder that despite their seemingly mountainous task, Arsenal were at that stage still not quite out of the contest, although their case wasn't helped when Gabriel Martinelli was forced off with what appeared to be a hamstring problem before half-time.
Newcastle refused to sit on the lead, and commendably kept up the quest to extend their advantage after the break. Gordon should have given his side a four-goal aggregate lead when he dispossessed William Saliba 40 yards from goal but with Raya well out of position the Newcastle forward curled his effort agonisingly wide.
The England international wasn't to be denied for long, and six minutes into the second half he claimed his side's second on the night to put the issue beyond doubt.
Arsenal played a large part in their own downfall, Raya's pass from the back putting Declan Rice under pressure. The midfielder was dispossessed by the high-pressing Fabian Schar on the edge of the area, allowing the ball to fall invitingly for Gordon to thread a shot into the corner of the net. Game over.
Havertz had penalty claims waved away after running into Dan Burn in a bid to engineer a foul as the game petered out, but like most of the rest of Arsenal's evening, it was too little, too late as they were swept away on a tide of Geordie passion as Newcastle moved a step closer to ending 70 years of hurt.
Dubravka 8; Trippier 8, Schar 8, Botman 7 (Krafth 80, 6), Burn 8, Hall 7; Murphy 8 (Willock 80, 6), Tonali 8 (Longstaff 88), Guimaraes 8 (Miley 90, 5), Gordon 8; Isak 8 (Wilson 88, 5). Booked: Guimaraes, Schar.
Reya 4; Timber 4, Saliba 3, Gabriel 3, Lewis-Skelly 4; Odegaard 3 (Sterling 61, 4), Partey 3 (Jorginho 78, 4), Rice 3; Martinelli 5 (Nwaneri 38, 5), Havertz 4, Trossard 2 (63, Merino 61, 4). Booked: Havertz, Saliba.
Simon Hooper
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