Arsenal endured a nightmare start against Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg.
When the stakes couldn’t have been higher, Mikel Arteta watched his side fluff their lines as Newcastle rattled Arsenal early on.
The Gunners were aware that they hadn’t scored more than three goals at St James’ Park in 14 years, putting pressure on the mammoth task to reach the Carabao Cup final at Wembley.
Despite heading to Newcastle after beating Manchester City 5-1, Arsenal looked frightened and frail, producing a nightmare start to the decisive second leg.
Chris Waddle blasts Arsenal defending against Newcastle
After Newcastle beat Arsenal 2-0 at the Emirates, the Gunners were aware of the size of the task that awaited them in the North East.
There were high hopes for the return fixture however, things started disastrously, as Arsenal target Alexander Isak opened the scoring after just seven minutes – which was later ruled offside.
Arteta had warned Arsenal of Isak’s threat after the first leg but, the Spaniard’s defenders could not cope with the Swede, despite multiple warnings this season.
Such was noticed by former England international Chris Waddle, who was stunned by Arsenal’s approach when it came to defending against the Newcastle talisman.
“It was a great start by Newcastle and the space that Arsenal allowed Alexander Isak to run into, even though he was just offside, was incredible,” Waddle said on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“I have not seen them be so open,” the pundit claimed, a statement that many could agree with as Isak bullied Arsenal early on.
William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes can’t cope with Alexander Isak
So often, the defensive partnership of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes is spoken with high regard, and rightly so.
The pair very rarely struggle against forwards, with the pair winning their fair share of battles since their emergence in 2022/23.
Viktor Gyokeres didn’t phase Arsenal’s defence, neither has Erling Haaland in recent meetings but when it comes to Isak, there’s a noticable fear.
The Sweden international’s pace, power and clinical edge left Gabriel and Saliba quaking at St James’ Park, and not for the first time this season.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
