Newcastle took a massive step towards a second Carabao Cup final in three seasons with a hugely impressive 2-0 semi-final first leg victory at Arsenal.
Goals from man of the moment Alexander Isak and England winger Anthony Gordon put Eddie Howe’s team in a strong position ahead of the second leg at St James’ Park in a month’s time. Arsenal must now aim to become just the third team in the 65-year history of this competition to make the final after losing the first leg of the semi at home.
The Athletic’s Chris Waugh and Art de Roche pick over the key talking points…
Is this Eddie Howe’s greatest feat yet?
There have been some monumental achievements during Howe’s three-year Newcastle tenure, so many huge milestones, and yet this present run may be the most impressive of all.
Not only the seven successive wins in all competitions, which is a fresh accomplishment, but also the past three of those being achieved on the road, two of them at Manchester United’s Old Trafford and now the Emirates Stadium, grounds at which Newcastle have historically surrendered.
At the Emirates, they had won just one of their previous 19 visits in all competitions (when Andy Carroll got the only goal in November 2010), while losing 16 times. Their previous aggregate score on this ground was 47-8 in Arsenal’s favour.
This latest triumph was also achieved without the suspended Bruno Guimaraes, Newcastle’s captain and talisman. He has played in every big cup match since joining the club and, from his full debut in March 2022, Newcastle have failed to win any of the eight Premier League matches he has not started.
Newcastle rode their luck, with Arsenal’s final expected goals (xG) figure in excess of 3.0, when Howe’s team had restricted five of their previous six opponents to an xG of less than 1.0. Still, however, this was a fifth clean sheet across those seven games, with only two goals conceded and 20 scored.
Howe changed to a back five after 65 minutes, once it was 2-0, before deploying a bespoke 5-5-0 formation for the final 15 minutes, in an attempt to defend a healthy lead, knowing that second leg at St James’ is still to come on Wednesday, February 5.
Inside 24 days, from the 4-0 triumph over Leicester City through to this historic 2-0 triumph, Newcastle have utterly transformed the complexion of their season. They are still fighting on three fronts, dreaming of another Champions League qualification and a first domestic trophy since 1955.
What does this mean for Arsenal’s trophy chances?
This match felt like one Arsenal really needed to win to build momentum. With an FA Cup tie third-round against Manchester United back here on Sunday and the deciding leg of this semi-final being played away, Mikel Arteta’s side needed to set the tone.
They threatened to do that in the first half, with chances falling to Jurrien Timber, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard, but was that enough?
Now in their fifth season since Arteta’s debut-campaign FA Cup final triumph in 2020, attention is shifting to whether this group of players will have the tangible evidence of progress that it feels like they deserve.
Arteta’s starting line-up was strong. The midfield of Odegaard, Thomas Partey and Declan Rice helped secure five consecutive wins during last season’s title run-in and has arguably been his most reliable trio since Granit Xhaka’s departure in the summer of 2023. Even so, not capitalising on their opportunities left them vulnerable and now has them in a precarious position.
Arsenal have mustered just two shots on target combined during their past two trips to St James’ Park; one in each match — both 1-0 defeats. Newcastle at home are incredibly well drilled, and with that likely to be the case again in that second leg next month, Arteta may field a similarly strong team then.
There are still three other competitions to play in before that match, however, as Arsenal resume their Champions League campaign at the end of this month with the final two league-phase matches.
Their season has been stop-start since August. That has to change at some point.
Art de Roche
Alexander Isak is inevitable (even at the Emirates)
Rarely has a goal been both entirely expected and yet a total shock at exactly the same time. But Newcastle’s opener tonight was.
There was certainly nothing surprising about Isak getting himself onto the scoresheet again — his 15th club goal of the season. The Swede has scored in each of his past seven Premier League games, and this was the fifth successive match in all competitions in which he has found the back of the net.
In the 37th minute, goalkeeper Martin Dubravka launched a free-kick forward, Sven Botman did brilliantly to flick a header into the Arsenal penalty area, Jacob Murphy touched the ball between two defenders and Isak finished brilliantly with his left foot, lashing an effort in off the underside of the crossbar.
That was his first shot of the night, and the only one he was afforded during the opening 45 minutes, but he is in such red-hot form that he was never going to miss the chance. Since December 4, he has 10 goals and two assists in nine games across all competitions. Across his past 15 domestic games, it’s 14 and three.
This goal was also his 50th for Newcastle in his 89th appearance, making him the third-fastest player to that milestone in the Premier League era, behind Andy Cole (50 games) and Les Ferdinand (89).
Yet, as customary as an Isak goal has become, it was still an unusual sight to witness a Newcastle player scoring at the Emirates. It is only the second time 10 visits to Arsenal in which they have found the net, a run which included eight successive goalless trips between 2016 and 2024.
On the balance of the first half, however, it was just about deserved.
Chris Waugh
Arsenal lose track of Newcastle’s danger man
By the time Isak put Newcastle ahead, it was at least the fourth instance of Arsenal players leaving the Swedish striker unmarked when receiving the ball.
On that crucial occasion it came at a free kick, which was flicked on by Botman and laid into his path by Murphy. Odegaard was closest to Isak in that passage of play, but was unaware of the run off his shoulder. Despite how disappointing a moment that was, the Arsenal captain was not alone in this.
Earlier in the half, Isak had no trouble dropping into midfield areas to get on the ball and free Newcastle’s wide-men. He found Gordon and Lewis Hall on the left in the opening exchanges, and Murphy down the right as the game progressed.
Each time, he was under minimal pressure. Considering Isak’s quality, and the fact Arsenal have admired him since he was at Spain’s Real Sociedad before a summer 2022 move to Newcastle, that side of his game should have been an area of concern well before it became apparent on the Emirates turf.
William Saliba and fellow centre-back Gabriel don’t tend to have issues stepping forward and being proactive in their defending, but may have been hesitant tonight because of the wide threats Newcastle carry.
Midfielders didn’t pick him up, and that continued into the second half for Newcastle’s second goal on 51 minutes. Isak stood between Arsenal’s defence and midfield, calmly dropped in to play a one-two and then saw his shot tipped into scorer Gordon’s path.
Partey tried to get near the striker at 2-0 down, but Isak was too sharp for him by this point.
Art de Roche
What did Mikel Arteta say?
Speaking to Sky Sports about the chances his side spurned: “That was the biggest difference in the game. In every other aspect, we were the better team. (Newcastle) scored two goals and credit to them as they managed to win the game like this.
“When we missed the chances and conceded the goal it is always tough, but the team reacted. We generated a lot of situations, but it is true, they defended the box very well. We can do better with our decisions. We had a one-v-one chance with the ’keeper and in the semi-final you have to be clinical.”
What did Eddie Howe say?
Speaking to Sky Sports about his team’s 2-0 advantage for the return leg at home: “I don’t think that necessarily means anything. We know the qualities that Arsenal possess and we know that in the second leg we have our supporters with us, which will be hugely important for us, but we’re still going to need to do everything right to get through.”
What next for Arsenal?
Sunday, January 12: Manchester United (H), FA Cup third round, 3pm GMT, 10am ET
Wednesday, January 15: Tottenham Hotspur (H), Premier League, 8pm GMT, 3pm ET
What next for Newcastle?
Sunday, January 12: Bromley (H), FA Cup third round, 3pm GMT, 10am ET
Wednesday, January 15: Wolves (H), Premier League, 7.30pm GMT, 2.30pm ET
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(Top photo: Serena Taylor/Newcastle United)
