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Newcastle secured an impressive and deserved one A 2-0 win over Arsenal in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final on Tuesday night at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal spurned several promising chances in the first half hour and Alexander Isak punished them for their profligacy. The Newcastle striker scored his 15th goal of the season seven minutes after the break, firing past David Ray with aplomb from a free-kick.
Anthony Gordon doubled Newcastle’s lead shortly after half-time and the Magpies were able to hold firm under increasing pressure from Arsenal, ensuring they took a convincing lead back to St James’ Park for the second leg in early February.
How the match unfolded
Newcastle started strongly in the capital, but the home side boasted the better chances early in the proceedings. After a series of impressive blocking attacks by the black and white jerseys, Jurrien Timber headed over the crossbar from four yards, while the goal was open.
It took a little before half an hour Arsenal to fully flex their attacking muscles with a slick move that almost resulted in the opening goal. Two cute passes bypassed the Newcastle press and sent Gabriel Martinelli racing towards Martin Dubravka’s goal, but the Brazilian’s venomous effort crashed onto the post.
Just as the momentum swung in Arsenal’s favour, Newcastle struck. Sven Botman took the opening free-kick and found Jacob Murphy, who eased the ball into the path of the in-form Isak. The tall Swede made no mistake from close range, slotting under the crossbar to give the Magpies the lead.
Arsenal almost went into the break, but Dubravka’s save on the brink of half-time denied the hosts an equaliser. Declan Rice’s far-post header fortuitously fell to centre-back Gabriel, but the Brazilian couldn’t get his half-volley past the onrushing Newcastle stopper.
The Gunners would have hoped for an immediate response after the restart, but instead their visitors doubled their lead six minutes after the break. Murphy picked out scorer Isak and the striker forced Ray into a low save and Gordon reacted before the Timbers to slot the parried ball into an empty net.
Kai Havertz was presented with a glorious chance to half the deficit moments before the hour mark when Leandro Trossard’s deflected cross fell to him unmarked in the six-yard box, but the returning German inexplicably missed his header as the ball bounced off his shoulder and out out for a goal kick.
Arsenal continued to apply pressure on the Newcastle goal without Dubravka doing too much, with Jorginho opening promisingly over the bar in the final five minutes to make it a frustrating night for the Gunners.
Arsenal’s creative struggles were clear for all to see at the Emirates, and they now face an incredibly tough challenge to overturn Newcastle’s two-goal deficit at St James’ Park in the second leg. If they can’t, it will be another silver lining missed by Mikel Arteta.
Mikel Arteta’s starting line-up highlighted the magnitude of Tuesday’s clash. The Spaniard has fielded his strongest available starting XI for the arrival of Newcastle, hoping for a more impressive and fluent display than was served up against Brighton & Hove Albion at the weekend.
However, from the first whistle, life was challenging for Arsenal. Newcastle, somewhat surprisingly, used a high-octane pressing approach, forcing mistakes from the home side and limiting the time and space allocated to their talented forward line.
Newcastle understandably took a more cautious approach after taking a two-goal lead, sinking deeper and making a number of defensive-minded substitutions. However, Arsenal continued to be stifled by Eddie Howe, with no answer to the deep-lying back line that stood before them.
The Gunners have been sorely missing the tireless and endlessly creative Bukayo Saka, who has been ruled out for the foreseeable future through injury, and now have a mountain to climb ahead of the second leg. Without their talismanic winger, Arsenal suffocated on the big stage.
There has long been talk that Arsenal need a new centre-forward if they are to transform themselves from almost-men to serial winners. Isak is one of the names regularly mentioned in the gossip columns, and his hugely impressive performances on Tyneside did not go unnoticed.
While Kai Havertz – and Gabriel Jesus in recent weeks – have occasionally masked the cracks, Tuesday night showed exactly what Arsenal have been missing during their more difficult periods over the past few years.
Isaac, which would reportedly cost £150 millionhe demonstrated his class in front of an interested crowd, effectively leading the line from the first minute until his final substitution. He has already scored the winning goal league game in November and produced a similarly clinical finish to fire Newcastle into the lead, before scoring Newcastle’s second try with brilliant play from the centre-forward. Havertz, meanwhile, missed an uncontested header from close range.
The Sweden international’s overall link-up play was hugely impressive, with bursts of pace and gazelle-like agility playing havoc with Arsenal’s experienced centre-back duo. If this was an audition to call north London his permanent home, he passed with flying colors.
Newcastle had a relatively slow start to the campaign but have come alive over the past month. Tuesday’s triumph was a seventh successive win in all competitions, with victories over Aston Villa, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and now Arsenal in their last four away games.
The Magpies have often saved their best performances for the Premier League giants this term – see their 1-0 win over Arsenal earlier in the campaign – and have turned up the heat again at the Emirates.
A breathless and spirited performance was responsible for the two-goal win, with Newcastle relentless in the final third, industrious in midfield and heroic in defence. The latter was particularly eye-catching, with block after block denying Arsenal a way back into the game.
If they reach the final, they will have no fear at Wembley, even if Liverpool is their opponent in the exhibition match. They have shown their ability to constantly mix with the best and now have an excellent opportunity to end their long trophy drought.
