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After trouncing English Premier League title-holders Manchester City 5-1 on Sunday, Arsenal were brought back down to Earth in a humbling 0-2 loss to Newcastle in the second leg of the English Football League (EFL) Cup.
The North London club were already up against it before the match had even begun, trailing by 2 goals after the first leg. However, Newcastle ensured there would be no spectacular comeback, delivering a sublime performance in front of their raucous home crowd at St James’ Park on Wednesday.
Jacob Murphy’s first half opener and Anthony Gordon’s strike after the interval sealed a 4-0 aggregate success that sent Newcastle to their second League Cup final in the last three seasons.
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Mikel Arteta appears frustrated on the sidelines of the Arsenal v Newcastle match on Wednesday
Organised superbly by their astute manager Eddie Howe, they out-played Mikel Arteta’s side thanks to superb performances from Sweden striker Alexander Isak and England winger Gordon.
Howe acknowledged he had tweaked his defensive system, switching to a back five to nullify Arsenal’s set-piece threat. Arteta had no answers to Howe’s tactical masterclass as Newcastle beat the Gunners for the third time this season.
Arteta rued the fact that his side couldn’t make early inroads despite their spell of dominance.
“We had momentum in the first half and didn’t capitalise. They scored immediately after and the momentum shifts,” Arsenal boss Arteta said.
“We needed a goal early in the second half and we didn’t get that and the opportunity passes. They have been more efficient than us in the boxes and that is the difference in the tie. You need to be very efficient. That is what takes you close to winning trophies and today we weren’t.
“Today is painful [but] tomorrow is a different day,” the Spaniard added.
Meanwhile, Newcastle boss Howe was ecstatic with the result, making sure to point out how well-deserved his team’s progress to the final was.
“It was a great night for us. It was a tough game but tactically we were good. The intention was to be aggressive and sometimes when you do that it doesn’t always work. Today it did.
“We are there on merit. Our run has not been easy this year, so we’ve done the hard yards. Hopefully we can learn from the last experience. We have come a long way since then. I would love to think we can go to Wembley [for the final] and perform better,” he said.
Newcastle will face the winner of the Tottenham v Liverpool tie, with the final to be played on March 16.
Meanwhile, Arsenal, who have already been dumped out of the FA Cup, face Leicester City in their next EPL match on February 15.
Their last shot at silverware is still the English Premier League title, however, they are currently in second place, six points behind league-leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
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