Newcastle United put one foot in the EFL Cup final with a brilliant 2-0 win over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, where Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon were on target. (More Football News)
💧Eddie Howe's side, who were EFL Cup runners-up in 2023, survived an early wave of pressure before Isak put them in front late in the first half of Tuesday's semi-final first leg, then Gordon's close-range finish gave them breathing space shortly after the interval.
ꦰThey now have a two-goal cushion to defend when the sides reconvene for the second leg at St James' Park on 5 February, when Mikel Arteta's Gunners will require a big improvement.
🌳Jurrien Timber headed over when left unmarked in a good position early on, which set the tone for Arsenal to dominate long periods of the first half without making the breakthrough.
♛Their best opportunity of the period came just before the half-hour mark, as Gabriel Martinelli broke clean through on goal. The Brazilian beat Martin Dubravka with his near-post effort, only to see the ball bounce off the upright.
🥃Their wastefulness was punished in the 38th minute as a deep Newcastle free-kick somehow found Jacob Murphy. His touch fell at the feet of Isak, who crashed his finish off the underside of the crossbar and in.
ꦗThings got worse for Arsenal six minutes into the second half as David Raya could only parry Isak's shot into the path of Gordon, who tapped into an empty net to make it 2-0.
🐼Kai Havertz fluffed his lines from six yards out and Jorginho fired over the crossbar as Arsenal went in search of a lifeline, but they were unable to cut the deficit and now need a memorable comeback on Tyneside next month.
Data Debrief: Half-century for Isak
𓂃Isak's opening goal on Tuesday was his 50th for Newcastle in all competitions. Since his debut in August 2022, the only Premier League players to net more are Erling Haaland (105) and Mohamed Salah (73).
𓆏The Swede has now scored 10 goals in his last nine matches across all competitions, and this is the second time he has netted against Arsenal this season, having hit the winner when the teams faced off in the Premier League in November.
෴He is the first Newcastle player to score against Arsenal in two different games within a single season since Laurent Robert in 2001-02.
✅Isak's goal also continued his excellent partnership with Murphy, with the duo combining for seven goals in all competitions this season – the most of any Premier League pair.
