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.
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.
They 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.
Things 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.