Newcastle United secured their second League Cup final appearance in just three seasons by dominating 2-0 Arsenal at an electric St James’ Park on Wednesday, culminating in a decisive 4-0 aggregate victory.
Just after Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard squandered an opportunity to reduce the lead, Jacob Murphy scored from a rebound in the 19th minute following Alexander Isak’s shot that struck the crossbar.
Arsenal, unexpectedly defeated 2-0 at home in the first leg, experienced another disappointing performance, and their destiny was determined when Anthony Gordon capitalized on a defensive mistake in the 52nd minute to put the home team in a comfortable position.
Road to the Final
Newcastle, who last claimed a major trophy in 1955, will face either Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur in the final at Wembley next month, as they aim to improve upon their 2023 experience when Manchester United defeated them in the final.
Tottenham leads 1-0 going into the second leg at Anfield on Thursday.
Out of the 32 times a team has fallen behind by two goals or more in the first leg of a League Cup semi-final, only on one occasion has a team managed to overcome that deficit and progress to the final.
Given the proof of their overwhelming 5-1 win against Manchester City on Sunday, it appeared quite reasonable that Arsenal could break that pattern and spoil the celebration for the Geordies.
In the end, Tyneside saw an unrestrained joy as the club’s devoted supporters celebrated yet another opportunity to win a trophy.
Key Moments and Turning Points
The result of the draw was likely determined right before the halfway mark of the first half.
Had Arsenal captain Odegaard converted a prime chance instead of hastily skewing a shot off the outside of the post, Newcastle could have been overwhelmed by tension, particularly since they had already seen an Isak attempt disallowed by VAR due to an extremely close offside ruling.
Just a minute after Odegaard’s noticeable miss, the advancing Isak found himself on goal once more, and his curling shot hit the inside of the post before bouncing to Murphy, who remained calm under pressure to direct the rebound into the net from a narrow-angle.
Post-Match Reactions
I was very happy Odegaard missed it, Bruno Guimaraes, the Brazilian captain of Newcastle, stated. They had a great chance there, and I believe we scored less than two minutes later. It changed everything.
“I was nervous before the match, an important one, against Arsenal, a truly exceptional team. However, when we perform like that, we turn into an incredible team. If we play like that, we can aspire to great things.”
Injury Impact and Tactical Shifts
Arsenal faced another blow as Gabriel Martinelli exited the game due to a hamstring injury before halftime. With fellow attackers Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka also sidelined, this incident might have greater implications for Arsenal’s season.
Mikel Arteta’s team didn’t appear at ease throughout the match, and their situation was about to deteriorate further shortly after the start of the second half.
Late Game Developments
William Saliba, looking unusually flustered, was fortunate that Gordon missed his attempt to score from afar after taking the ball away from him and noticing goalkeeper David Raya significantly off his line.
However, Arsenal did not take the hint, and just moments later, Raya’s relaxed pass was intercepted by Gordon, who then struck a first-time shot past the Spanish goalkeeper and into the side of the post.
After the pregame tension subsided, Newcastle easily won the remainder of the match against an Arsenal team that will now need to regroup and concentrate on attempting to overtake Liverpool in the Premier League title race.
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