Newcastle March into EFL Cup Final as Arsenal Crumble

Newcastle United is just 90 minutes away from ending a 69-year trophy drought after a strong showing against Arsenal.

February 5, 2025
11:20 pm

Newcastle United is just one game away from ending a 69-year wait for a big trophy after taking down Arsenal with a solid 2-0 win at St James’ Park, wrapping up a 4-0 victory overall and a spot in the EFL Cup final.

Eddie Howe’s team had already set themselves up nicely with a great first-leg win at the Emirates. In the first few minutes of the second match, they thought they had scored again when Alexander Isak fired a shot into the top corner after a quick counterattack. But VAR stepped in and called it offside, much to the disappointment of the excited home crowd.

Arsenal, looking to get on the board early, almost answered back with a shot from Martin Ødegaard that hit the outside of the post. But it was Newcastle who struck first. Isak, not letting his earlier miss get him down, was involved again, passing to Anthony Gordon before hitting the post. The ball bounced perfectly to Jacob Murphy, who coolly slotted it in, leaving David Raya with no chance and putting Arsenal on the back foot.

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Even after their impressive 5-1 win over Manchester City last weekend, Mikel Arteta’s team seemed a bit shaken, and the signs weren’t good – only one of the last 14 matches between these teams had both sides scoring. Arsenal’s shaky defense showed again early in the second half when Fabian Schär took advantage of a terrible pass from Raya. Gordon was there to turn and score Newcastle’s second, pretty much sealing the deal.

With the win almost in the bag, Newcastle played it smart for the rest of the match, hardly giving Arsenal a chance to come back. Now, the Magpies are waiting to see who they’ll face at Wembley, either Liverpool or Tottenham. As for Arsenal, they’ll have to keep waiting for their first EFL Cup final since 2018, with their hopes of lifting the trophy for the first time in over 30 years dashed in a big way on Tyneside.