Arsenal headed into the Carabao Cup semi final second leg knowing that they had a tough task and this proved to be the case as they were beaten 2-0 by Newcastle.
Alexander Isak had an early goal disallowed before he outmuscled William Saliba to hit the post as the ball fell for Jacob Murphy to open the scoring.
Things went from bad to worse for Mikel Arteta as Gabriel Martinelli limped off with a suspected hamstring injury halfway through the first half.
A mix up between David Raya and Declan Rice saw the ball squirm to Antony Gordon, who coolly finished past the Gunners keeper to put the tie beyond any doubt.
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Five things you missed from Arsenal vs Newcastle
After such a frantic and enthralling second leg of the Carabao Cup semi final, here are five things you may have missed from Newcastle v Arsenal.
Simon Hooper makes VAR announcement to crowd for Alexander Isak disallowed goal
Simon Hooper was the referee for Newcastle v Arsenal and had eventful opening few minutes of the match. Hooper gave a foul against Antony Gordon with eight seconds and then could have booked Gabriel Martinelli within a minute.
Alexander Isak then looked to have put Newcastle into an early lead but the goal was eventually disallowed for offside after a length VAR check. In a first for Arsenal, Hooper had to explain the decision via microphone to an expectant St James’s Park crowd.
William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes were uncharacteristically poor
Lee Dixon criticised Saliba and Gabriel’s performance in the first leg and the usually solid centre back pairing endured a nightmare start to the second leg.
The pair got away with an early disallowed goal before Saliba was beaten too easily by Isak for Murphy’s opening goal. Both Gabriel Magalhaes and Saliba were also guilty of giving the ball away on numerous occasions, which gave the Magpies the confidence in the tie.
Arsenal struggled to cope with Newcastle’s physicality
From the very first whistle, Eddie Howe’s side ruffled Arsenal’s feathers with their physical approach to the game. Newcastle were snapping into tackles and putting the Gunners off their stride both on and off the ball.
Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Kieran Trippier particularly attempted to get under the skin of Gabriel and Leandro trossard, and it worked as Mikel Arteta’s side failed to get any momentum in the game.
Gary Neville called Declan Rice ‘England’s best midfielder’
Speaking on commentary for Sky Sports coverage of Newcastle v Arsenal, commentator Gary Neville described Rice as ‘England’s best midfielder’ when describing how well Fabian Schar did to close him down for Newcastle’s second goal.
The Arsenal man has been in sensational form recently, Rice has created the most big chances in the Premier League in 2025 but was caught napping for the Magpies to pounce and Gordon to finish off any hope.
Newcastle crowd taunted Mikel Arteta with humorous chant
As the game slipped further and further away from the Gunners, the Newcastle fans took the opportunity to taunt Arteta with the chant: “Mikel Arteta, it must be the ball.”
Arteta complained about the Carabao Cup match ball following the first leg at the Emirates Stadium, which led to the EFL releasing a statement confirming that the ball had been rigorously tested. The ball was the least of the Arsenal manager’s worries after a dreadful night for his side.
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