Newcastle United secured their place in the Carabao Cup final for the second time in three seasons after a 2-0 victory over Arsenal in the semi-final second leg at St James’ Park, completing a dominant 4-0 aggregate win.
Goals from Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon ensured Eddie Howe’s side booked a trip to Wembley on March 16, where they will face either Tottenham or Liverpool, who meet in the other semi-final second leg on Thursday night.
The Magpies came close to a dream start in front of their raucous home supporters. In-form forward Alexander Isak, with 14 goals in his last 13 matches, broke through the Arsenal defense and finished clinically.
The crowd erupted in celebration, but the joy was short-lived as referee Simon Hooper announced the goal had been disallowed for offside following a VAR check.
Fifteen minutes later, Newcastle got the breakthrough they were seeking. Isak caused more problems for Arsenal defenders Gabriel and William Saliba, smashing a shot off the left-hand post.
As the Gunners tried to recover, Murphy pounced on the rebound and fired into an empty net to give Newcastle the lead.
Arsenal’s woes deepened when Gabriel Martinelli left the field clutching his hamstring and was replaced by teenager Ethan Nwaneri before halftime.
Early in the second half, Gordon almost doubled Newcastle’s advantage, intercepting the ball from Saliba and attempting an audacious 40-yard strike that narrowly missed the target.
Minutes later, Arsenal’s David Raya played a risky pass to Declan Rice, who was swiftly dispossessed by Fabian Schar. The ball fell kindly to Gordon, who made no mistake this time, slotting a composed shot into the bottom-left corner to seal the win.
Arsenal’s hopes of mounting a comeback faded as Newcastle tightened their grip on the game, edging closer to ending their 70-year wait for a major trophy.
Speaking after the match, Newcastle manager Eddie Howe credited his team’s tactical adjustments and the players’ focus, “The work started on Monday,” Howe told Sky Sports. “The Champions League experience really helped us. That got us working with two-day turnarounds and really quick game plans. We do mould and tweak things depending on the opposition… Today, we needed more height and solidity at the back. The players deserve the credit for following the instructions to the letter.”
Reflecting on returning to Wembley, Howe added, “It’s huge. The first Wembley appearance was brilliant and unexpected, but a club like this needs to be there regularly. We’re here on merit. Our run hasn’t been easy; we’ve faced four Premier League teams. Hopefully, we can learn from the last one and improve our performance.”
For Arsenal, manager Mikel Arteta admitted that Newcastle were the more clinical side across both legs, a crucial factor in the outcome.
“We’ve played so many games, every three days,” Arteta said in his press conference. “We knew it would be a high-intensity game, but emotionally, it slipped away before we realized it. We need to swallow this one—it’s painful.”
He acknowledged his team’s mistakes and lack of composure, “Errors are part of football. We’re usually composed, but today we allowed them to run and left ourselves vulnerable. We had big moments in the first half but didn’t capitalize. The second half got away from us, and we struggled to regain control. When you want to win trophies, you have to be effective in both boxes, and we weren’t.”
With their Carabao Cup hopes dashed, Arsenal will now regroup during their upcoming trip to Dubai as they shift focus to the remainder of the season.
