Arsenal’s pursuit of claiming a major trophy this season ended disappointingly after they were beaten by Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup semi-finals. The Gunners headed to the St.James Park on Wednesday evening, fully aware of the Herculean task waiting for them. Goals from Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon had given Newcastle a deserved two-goal advantage in the first-leg. Anthony Gordon celebrates after scoring against Arsenal. Photo by Stu Forster. Source: Getty Images How Newcastle eliminated Arsenal from the Carabao Cup As expected, Mikel Arteta’s players were treated to a hostile reception in Tyneside with Newcastle threatening to put their game beyond their reach very early in the game. Isak thought he had beaten the offside trap but referee Simon Hooper communicated to the fans, in the new VAR protocol, that the Swedish striker had gone a tad early.
They were, however, not to be denied minutes later after Isak’s shot ricocheted off the post but landed perfectly for Jacob Murphy to open the scoring on the night. Arsenal’s attempts on the other end were continuously thwarted by gallant defending. An error from David Raya allowed Gordon to tuck in the second and effectively end Arsenal’s hopes. Anthony Gordon aims swipe at Arsenal Speaking after the game, Gordon insisted on the need to ‘stay humble’ ahead of the Wembley contest. “I think it’s important for us to stay humble now. We went on a really good run and we had two results that we didn’t see coming and we didn’t really need in our season so this was a good game to put us back on track. But I think we just need to put our heads down and focus on what’s in front of us,” as quoted by Football London.
Fans are convinced that the England international borrowed a leaf from the recent back-and-forth of Arsenal players and fans against Erling Haaland. Haaland was forced to eat a humble pie on Sunday after his ‘stay humble’ jibe came back to haunt him Who will Newcastle face in the Carabao Cup final? Eddie Howe’s side will face one of Liverpool or Tottenham in the March 16 final. The two sides meet in the second leg at Anfield tonight with the latter carrying a slender 1-0 lead thanks to a controversial Lucas Bergvall winner in North London
by Martin Moses
