London, Feb 6 Newcastle United moved a step closer to ending a 56-year wait to win a major trophy as they secured a place in the Carabao Cup final with a 4-0 aggregate victory over Arsenal on Thursday (IST).
Eddie Howe's side, who held a 2-0 advantage from the semifinal first leg, completed the second part of the assignment with 2-0 win, and will now face Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley as they stand one victory away from ending a sequence without major success stretching back to the 1969 triumph in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
Newcastle have reached their second Carabao Cup final in the last three seasons (also 2022-23) while This is the ninth time that Arsenal have been eliminated from a Carabao Cup semi-final, now the most of any side at this stage of the competition (Tottenham on 8 before their second leg vs. Liverpool).
Newcastle made a flying start, with Alexander Isak having a goal ruled out for offside before Jacob Murphy turned home a rebound in the 19th minute after the Sweden striker's shot hit the post, Carabao Cup reports.
The goal came seconds after Martin Odegaard missed what turned out to be Arsenal's best chance of turning this Semi-Final around, glancing the post with only keeper Martin Dubravka to beat.
In a tumultuous atmosphere, with the Toon Army urging their side on at deafening volume, Newcastle delivered the decisive blow after 52 minutes following a nightmare moment for Arsenal keeper David Raya.
Raya tried to find Declan Rice, who was shadowed by Fabian Schar. He stole possession away from Rice, leaving Anthony Gordon with a simple finish to send Newcastle back to Wembley.
With a loss, Arsenal have now been eliminated from each of their last three semi-finals in major competitions, falling at this stage of the 2020-21 UEFA Europa League vs. Villarreal, 2021-22 League Cup vs. Liverpool, and this season’s League Cup vs. Newcastle.
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