‘Toothless’ Arsenal slammed following Newcastle United Carabao Cup loss

Goals from Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon sealed what turned out to be a comfortable win for Newcastle United against the Gunners. Taking a two-goal lead back to St James’ Park following their 2-0 triumph at the Emirates Stadium, Eddie Howe’s side knew they simply had to avoid defeat to seal a place in the Carabao Cup final.

Despite having Joelinton injured and coming into the game on the back of a defeat against Fulham at the weekend, the Magpies were simply brilliant and nullified any threat Arsenal tried to throw at them. It was the perfect night for the hosts, whilst Arsenal have to head back to the capital having suffered yet another disappointing defeat at St James’ Park - one that means they are out of both domestic cups this season.

Post-match, Mikel Arteta credited Newcastle’s efficiency in front of goal as the reason for their dominance in the tie: "They have been more efficient than us in the boxes and that is the difference in the tie,” the Spaniard told Sky Sports.

“You need to be on the day very efficient that is what takes you close to winning trophies and today we weren't. Today is painful and tomorrow a different day."

Gary Neville, meanwhile, was more scathing in his assessment of Arsenal’s shortcomings at St James’ Park, describing the Gunners as ‘toothless’, saying: “It [Wednesday’s game] has shone a massive spotlight on the toothlessness of Arsenal's front players compared to Newcastle's.”

The Magpies now have over a month to wait for their trip to Wembley and will discover who they will meet following Liverpool’s clash with Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield. Spurs head to Merseyside one goal up following their 1-0 win over the Reds in the first-leg.

Whoever they face on March 16 at Wembley, Newcastle United will head there with a different mindset to the one they faced Manchester United with two years ago. That day saw the Magpies play in their first major cup final for almost a quarter of a century.

This time round though it will be their second in two years and Howe believes his side stand in better stead this time around than ahead of that clash against the Red Devils: "We have come a long way since then [the 2023 final v Manchester United] - the Champions League does that to you, it is so testing and unique. Naturally for the big games a lot of the players have been there before, and we are used to the quick turnarounds and work smarter.

"There is a good feeling about the squad. We are tight on numbers but big on energy. I would love to think we can go to Wembley and perform better than we did previously."

Newcastle have gone almost 70 years without winning a domestic major trophy and know the Carabao Cup is their final chance to end that particular wait before it creeps over the seven-decade threshold.

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