If Eddie Howe had really wanted the England job he could quite possibly have secured it last summer but, instead, Newcastle’s manager let it be known that he had unfinished business in the north-east.
Howe has never been shy about discussing a “burning ambition” to preside over his club’s collection of a first major trophy since the Fairs Cup in 1969 and, in the course of a triumphant night on Tyneside, Mikel Arteta was left badly singed by the searing heat of that desire.
When the final whistle blew Newcastle had reached a second Carabao Cup final in three seasons but, right from the start, Arsenal’s manager and his players were thoroughly second-guessed by the smartest of second-leg tactical blueprints.
It is approaching five years since the London side last won a major trophy, the 2020 FA Cup, and while Newcastle prepare for a Wembley date next month Arteta’s outwitted and overwhelmed squad will now head to Dubai to rest and reflect.
It could be a while, though, before the taunts of those Gallowgate Enders who chanted “Mikel Arteta it must be the ball” finally stop ringing in the ears of a coach who partly blamed the Carabao Cup match ball for his side’s first‑leg defeat last month.
On Tuesday Howe had nodded in apparent agreement with a suggestion that “2-0 is the most dangerous lead in football”, but well before the end he had gone a long way towards debunking that particular theory. It helped that Newcastle’s manager took the precaution of breaking a longstanding devotion to operating with a back four.
If the ensuing tactical shift to a back five was partly to compensate for the loss of the injured Joelinton’s customary abrasion in midfield, it also had the benefit of averting the need to drop one of Fabian Schär, Sven Botman and Dan Burn, all of whom could make compelling cases for starting.
A revamp as much about coping with Arsenal’s threat from set pieces as smart dressing‑room diplomacy swiftly paid dividends with Schär, Botman and Burn all excelling, not to mention taking turns to step out of defence and press any remaining shreds of optimism out of Arteta’s increasingly suffocated players. Schär, in particular, shone in a special, quasi‑man‑marking job that nullified Declan Rice.
Howe had sensibly introduced the experienced, thoroughly streetwise Kieran Trippier at right wing‑back in place of Tino Livramento and Trippier’s nous frequently informed Arteta’s increasing grimaces.
Not that Newcastle supporters were necessarily looking for a cool, measured approach. “Get into them” demanded one giant banner in the Gallowgate End at kick‑off. Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak were happy to oblige with the former’s fine pass prefacing the rapidly accelerating Sweden striker taking a steadying touch before lashing a fabulous shot into the back of the net.
On that occasion VAR came to Arsenal’s rescue with the identification of a fractional offside that offered Arteta’s team a reprieve they barely deserved after leaving Isak far too much room for manoeuvre.
Not that it lasted long. Moments after Martin Ødegaard spurned a decent chance, Isak thundered a 20‑yard left-footed shot against a post and watched in delight as Jacob Murphy directed the rebound beyond David Raya on the half-volley. Small wonder Arteta is so keen on buying the Newcastle centre‑forward.
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Howe’s interpretation of playing with a defensive quintet often included much more high pressing than their guests can have bargained for and, as Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimarães charged around midfield like men possessed, a seemingly nonplussed Arsenal struggled to combat it.
Gabriel Martinelli had pledged that the London club would score “three, four or five goals” here but instead he pulled a hamstring and found himself replaced by Ethan Nwaneri in the 37th minute.
By then Arsenal had begun dominating possession but as they ran, repeatedly, into Howe’s formidable defensive barricade, it did them little good. Visiting possession stats in excess of 70% were all very well but, bar one save from Martin Dubravka to deny Leandro Trossard and Ødegaard grazing the outside of an upright, they never really looked like scoring potentially gamechanging goals.
The need to take risks left William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães badly exposed and unusually vulnerable. That defensive duo can rarely have looked so discombobulated but then they do not have to contend with Isak and Gordon every week.
Moments after missing a glorious shooting opportunity the latter slid a low shot past Raya following a passage of terrible Arsenal defending.
It all began with the goalkeeper ill‑advisedly attempting to play out from the back and involved Rice’s dispossession by Schär’s tackle before the ball dropped for the England winger to spark choruses of: “We’re going to Wemberlee.”
Source: theguardian.com
