Newcastle United are back in the English League Cup final for another chance to end their 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy.
The Saudi-controlled northeast club beat Arsenal 2-0 in the second leg of the semi-finals on Wednesday night to advance 4-0 on aggregate. Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon scored the goals at a boisterous St. James’ Park.
Newcastle will play either Tottenham or Liverpool in the March 16 final at Wembley Stadium. Tottenham lead 1-0 after the first leg — the second leg is Thursday at Anfield.
For Newcastle, it marks another opportunity to capture a first piece of silverware since being bought by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund in 2021. Newcastle’s last trophy was the now-defunct Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1969 and the most recent domestic title was the FA Cup in 1955.
Since that win, Newcastle have got to five domestic finals and lost them all.
Newcastle reached the 2023 League Cup final, but lost 2-0 to Manchester United.
Arsenal arrived buoyed by a 5-1 thrashing of Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday and looking to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg at Emirates Stadium last month.
Mikel Arteta’s team failed to handle the lively atmosphere inside St. James’, with its usually solid defence looking fragile and almost conceding after just four minutes when Alexander Isak was played through on goal and finished into the top corner. It was disallowed for offside following a video review and the decision was announced to fans inside the stadium by the referee via a wireless microphone — a practice being trialled in the English League Cup ahead of use in the Premier League.
After Martin Odegaard hit the post for Arsenal, Newcastle took the lead in the 19th minute when Isak struck a shot against the post and Murphy converted the rebound.
Arsenal’s remote chances of a comeback were further hit when Gabriel Martinelli went off with a muscle injury before halftime, and Gordon virtually secured Newcastle’s place in the title match by scoring the second after Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice was dispossessed outside his area by a sliding Fabian Schar.
ANTHONY GORDON MAKES IT 2-0 DECLAN RICE MISTAKE !! ARSENAL ARE OUT OF THE CARABAO CUP !!! STAY HUMBLE pic.twitter.com/tLPDYsmJID
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Arsenal, two-time League Cup winners, were looking to reach the final for the first time since 2018, when they lost 3-0 to Manchester City.
“It was a great night for us. It was a tough game but tactically we were good,” said Newcastle coach Eddie Howe. “The intention was to be aggressive and sometimes when you do that it doesn’t always work. Today it did. I thought it helped to solidify our plan. We had to retreat at times but we were always in the game.
“The work [on the game plan] started on Monday, which is quick. The Champions League last year helped us to work on those two-day turnarounds. We do tweak things depending on the opposition. We felt we needed more height in the team, we wanted solidity at the back and we had to change in order to win the game.
JACOB MURPHY GOAL !!! NEWCASTLE ARE WINNING ARSENAL HOLD THAT !!! STAY HUMBLE pic.twitter.com/PEeuLgrqX9
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“The players followed the instruction to the letter, they deserve the credit. Fabian [Schar] had big distances to cover in his job, tracking Declan Rice whether he dropped low or went wide or went central. At times he went right across the pitch. He is a good athlete and is very capable of doing it.”
Newcastle’s dominance was greeted with delight by former Newcastle star Alan Shearer, who baited Arsenal legend and commentary colleague Ian Wright.
His skipper Bruno Guimaraes added: “Unbelievable performance from everyone and we must thank the fans as well. Here we go, another final for the club and hopeful we can win this one.
“I felt anxious before the game, big game, Arsenal a top, top team but when we play like that we become an amazing team.
“Play like that and we can dream big. It would be amazing to get a trophy, it is my dream to do this.
“Isak is the best striker these days for me. For me, the manager is amazing. He deserves the credit.”
The Roarhttps://www.theroar.com.au/2025/02/06/better-in-every-position-newcastle-icon-gloats-as-magpies-smash-arsenal-to-reach-league-cup-final/‘Better in every position’: Newcastle icon gloats as Magpies smash Arsenal to reach League Cup final
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