Newcastle United faced Arsenal in the semi-final of the English Football League (EFL) Cup. The semi-final of the EFL Cup is a two-legged tie, which means Newcastle United and Arsenal would face each other twice, once at home and once away before the winner of the tie would be decided. The second leg of the tie took place on 5th February 2025, and Newcastle United managed to get past Arsenal, knock them out of the EFL Cup, and reach the final. This article talks about this showdown between Arsenal and Newcastle United.
Credit: ESPN
The first leg between Newcastle United and Arsenal took place on 7th January 2025. Arsenal dominated the possession and had a whopping 23 shots but were still unable to score a single goal during the entirety of the game. Newcastle United, on the other hand, took just seven shots but managed to convert some of them. Alexander Isak opened the scoring in the 37th minute thanks to Jacob Murphy’s assistance in giving the Magpies the lead. Isak almost scored again in the 51st minute, but Raya saved his shot. However, the save fell straight to Anthony Gordon, who put the ball into the back of the net to score 2-0.
Newcastle United went into the second leg with a 2-0 advantage, which made them the clear favourites to knock Arsenal out of the EFL Cup and reach the final. They had already won comfortably at the Emirates Stadium and had just to make sure they did not lose by two goals at home. Many fans thought that the Magpies would play very defensively and try to protect their two-goal advantage rather than score themselves. However, it was Newcastle United who got the first big opportunity. Alexander Isak managed to score for Newcastle as early as the 4th minute, but Arsenal was handed a lifeline when VAR ruled the goal out due to Isak being offside.
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While this gave Arsenal the chance to come back in the game and try to score a goal and start making a dent in the two-goal deficit they were facing, they were unable to make use of this opportunity. In the 19th minute, Isak found himself through on goal once again, and while he was onside this time, his shot hit the post and stayed out. However, it fell straight into the path of Jacob Murphy, who managed to fire it into the back of the net to open the scoring and extend Newcastle United’s lead in the tie to three goals.
Alexander Isak cooking Gabriel and Saliba. They could not catch him.
Jacob Murphy scored from a rebound for Newcastle 1-0 Arsenal after the Isak's shot hit the post. David Raya no chance.pic.twitter.com/VATZ7OFNBC
— Kyama (@ElijahKyama_) February 6, 2025
Arsenal tried their best to score a goal to try and inspire a comeback, but it was at the start of the second half that Anthony Gordon delivered the finishing blow. David Raya made a mistake while trying to pass the ball to Declan Rice, and Fabian Schar was able to take the ball off him with a tackle. Schar’s tackle pushed the ball perfectly into the path of Anthony Gordon, who found himself in space inside the box and managed to roll the ball into the goal to make the score 2-0 (4-0 aggregate score) and completely put the tie to rest. The Magpies ended up beating the Gunners by a four-goal margin to advance to the final.
Newcastle United put in a brilliant performance to completely dominate Arsenal in the Semi-final and make it to the final, but the toughest part is yet to come. They will face the winner of Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool in the final, and with both of them being formidable teams, it will be a tough final for the Magpies. Newcastle United last won a major trophy in the 1954/55 season, and they would love to end this drought and win the League Cup. It will be interesting to see who they face in the final, but whichever team manages to reach the final, the Magpies will most certainly give their best to try and win the EFL Cup.
For more news and updates on Newcastle United, keep reading GutshotMagazine.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram.
Guransh Machra is a sportswriter at Gutshot Magazine. He covers football news from local leagues like the Indian Super League as well as international leagues like the Premier League. He follows various sports like Football, Cricket, Formula 1, and Tennis. Apart from sports, Guransh is also enthusiastic about reading and gaming.
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