Goals from Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon fired Newcastle into a 2-0 aggregate lead with victory at Arsenal in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.
Isak fired Eddie Howe’s Magpies in front from Jacob Murphy’s 37th-minute pass after Sven Botman nodded forward from a deep free-kick.
Gordon doubled their lead to seal victory with a 51st-minute rebound strike from David Raya’s deflective block of Isak’s shot.
Speaking post-match to ITV, Howe was delighted at how his team handled the pressure in a tough first leg.
“Very pleased with the players, it was a tough game for us in many respects. We’ve had players struggling at half-time. Really pleased with how we played.”
Newcastle now head into their home leg on 5 February with a second final appearance within three years within sight, providing they don’t blow their two-goal lead.
Tottenham lead the other semi-final 1-0 on aggregate after Lucas Bergvall netted a 86th minute to beat Liverpool in North London 24 hours later.
With a total of four runner-up finishes between Arsenal and Newcastle in this competition this century, it was little surprise that the opening minutes were energetic as both teams looked to make a statement of intent, until Joelinton fired over for Newcastle in the fourth minute from Isak’s cutback pass.
Jurrien Timber saw a cross nodded behind by Tino Livramento over a minute later as Arsenal mounted a response, before he then nodded wide from the subsequent corner.
Gordon saw a 10th-minute header saved by Raya whilst Sandro Tonali fired over in the 18th minute as Newcastle continued to press, whilst Timber proved Arsenal’s best goal threat with another header wide from a corner-kick.
Arsenal eventually settled into a lively first half as Gabriel put a shot wide across goal in the 28th minute, before Gabriel Martinelli broke forward a minute later on a counter-attack but could only hit the right post.
Martin Odegaard was next to go close for the Gunners with a high shot over the bar from Leandro Trossard’s pass.
Those wasted chances from Mikel Arteta’s Gunners were eventually punished from a deep 37th-minute free-kick by Martin Dubravka, which Botman nodded on for Jacob Murphy to roll forward for Isak to smash into the top-left corner for Newcastle’s first-ever goal against the Gunners in this specific competition.
Arsenal subsequently pressed before half-time for an equaliser which failed to materialise and left them trailing at the break, just like they did in their comeback 3-2 Quarter-Final victory over Crystal Palace.
Any hopes of a repeat fightback were however dashed just six minutes into the second-half after Gordon smashed in a rebound strike from Raya’s block of Isak’s shot to double the Magpies’ lead.
Arsenal quickly cranked up their intensity as they looked to at least salvage a goal from this leg but Gordon missed a chance to put the tie almost out of sight, after he failed to connect to Tonali’s 57th-minute low cross.
Havertz meanwhile nodded wide moments later as Arsenal continued to push for a consolatory goal, which looked destined to elude them as Declan Rice and Martinelli saw further shots denied.
Arsenal’s lack of polished end product ultimately saw them fail to reduce their deficit in a lacklustre display as Jorginho put a 87th minute shot over the bar, ahead of a tricky FA Cup clash against Manchester United on 13 January at home.
Newcastle’s victory meant that Arsenal suffered their first loss at home in all competitions since a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa in the Premier League on 14 April 2024, with the Gunners now facing a huge task to turn this tie around at St James’ Park in the second leg on Wednesday 5 February.
What’s Next?
Arsenal turn their focus to a blockbuster FA Cup tie against reigning champions, Man Utd at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday 13 January at 3pm GMT.
Newcastle too will be in FA Cup action on that date in a simultaneous 3pm kick-off as they host League Two’s Bromley at St James’ Park.
Teams
Arsenal: David Raya, Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel, Myles Lewis-Skelly (Zinchenko 78′), Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey (Jorginho 59′), Declan Rice, Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Leandro Trossard (Jesus 59′)
Substitutes: Riccardo Calafiori, Jorginho, Jakub Kiwior, Mikel Merino, J Porter, Raheem Sterling, Kieran Tierney, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel Jesus
Newcastle: Martin Dubravka, Tino Livramento, Sven Botman, Dan Burn, Lewis Hall, Joe Willock (Longstaff 65′), Sandro Tonali, Joelinton, Jacob Murphy (Kelly 65′), Alexander Isak (Barnes 65′), Anthony Gordon (Almiron 76′)
Substitutes: Miguel Almiron, Harvey Barnes, Lloyd Kelly, Sean Longstaff, Lewis Miley, William Osula, Matt Targett, Kieran Trippier, Odysseas Vlachodimos
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