Newcastle United withstood a late bombardment from The Gunners to win at the Emirates Stadium for the first time since 2010, giving them a two-goal lead come the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final in February.
Alexander Isak’s 14th goal in his last 15 games broke the deadlock in the 37th minute, and Anthony Gordon’s tap-in doubled the lead just after halftime.
Despite facing 23 shots, they left with a win and a clean sheet, The Magpies now 90 minutes away from a chance at a trophy for the first time since 1968.
As it happened
Fourteen years. That’s a long time not only in football, but also in life. Fourteen years ago, David Cameron was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Star Wars had just six films, and Andy Carroll scored the only goal as Newcastle United secured their first win at the Emirates Stadium. Since then, there have been six Prime Ministers, five Star Wars films, and not a single Newcastle win at the home of Arsenal. That was until today.
That said, the hosts had every reason to be hopeful that run would continue. They hadn’t lost a game of football in 13 games and two months. They hadn’t even been beaten at home all season. But they were without Bukayo Saka, and they did lose at St. James’ Park earlier in the campaign. Arsenal may have been hopeful, but a win was not a guarantee – especially against a Newcastle side themselves on a six-game winning streak. To put it bluntly, this was a game in which anything could have happened.
It was a chess match for much of the first half, both sides trying to tactically outmanoeuvre one another. Newcastle sat with a clearly defined 4-5-1, the midfield only breaking ranks when picking the perfect moment to press in coordinated packs. Arsenal, on the other hand, tried intricately to play around the press with limited success.
Early in the game, their best chances came from set pieces. No shock there; they’ve scored 16 goals from them in the Premier League alone this season. Jurriën Timber was first to spurn a golden chance, nodding over the bar from very close range. Martin Dúbravka was nowhere near it, that a theme of the first half; he’d later rely on hopeful punches and an intervention from Sven Botman to deny similar chances.
Embed from Getty ImagesBut besides the set pieces, they struggled. That was until Newcastle pushed up the pitch a tad too far, their back four sat jagged on the halfway line, allowing Gabriel Martinelli to break into the space behind them and stride goalwards in the 29th minute. With the pitch to himself, he steadied, set himself up in the box for the moment that would surely give his side the lead, and crashed a strike off the near post. Dúbravka beaten, a relieved man: Martinelli head in hands. He didn’t realise it then, but that chance would be one he’d live to regret.
That’s because eight minutes later, Newcastle took the lead through the man who seems to score all their goals, and after 37 minutes of tiptoeing around a locked door, it was a battering ram which took it down.
Route one. Dúbravka stood over a free kick in his own half with one thought in mind: get it as far away as possible. As the ball looped towards the opposing penalty area, there was only going to be one man to take it out of the sky; it was a pass with Dan Burn’s name written all over it. He nodded it into the box for Jacob Murphy, who in turn touched it across the six-yard box for Alexander Isak to smash a strike in off the crossbar from close quarters. It was his 14th goal in his last 15 games, the in-form striker not only in England but perhaps all of Europe. It had to be him. It was him.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Gunners might’ve levelled things up quickly, though. Another set piece, another chance, this time Gabriel firing a strike almost on the goal line. This time, Dúbravka spread himself Schmeichel-esque to block the shot and keep the lead intact before the break.
Newcastle went into halftime with a lead to keep. Come the second half, they went one better.
It only took six minutes for one to become two, this time Anthony Gordon the man to inflict the killer blow. Isak was involved again, as ever, getting a shot away under the pressure of three defenders in red. Raya parried into the area, hoping Timber would be on his toes to clear the danger for good. You can imagine his dismay, then, that the Dutchman was much too slow, and instead an onrushing Gorden tapped the ball into an all but empty net.
Embed from Getty ImagesThey hadn’t won at this stadium since Cheryl Cole was number one in the UK; they were now less than 45 minutes away from taking a sizeable lead into the second leg.
The rest of the game was all Arsenal. Kai Havertz was the first to miss a guilt-edged chance, latching onto a Leandro Trossard cross totally unmarked and directing a shot wide not with his head, but his shoulder.
Martinelli would then miss another chance in the 69th minute, volleying over the bar. Another almost identical strike of his would lead to a corner a little over 10 minutes later, the delivery causing a goalmouth scramble from which Newcastle escaped alive but bruised. Shortly before 90 minutes had passed, substitute Jorginho would fire a superbly struck effort just over. They huffed and puffed, but The Gunners lacked punishing accuracy in any of their 23 shots.
All the while, Newcastle sat and soaked. They had their lead, and they were determined to bring it with them to St. James’ Park – and that they did. It’s a result that will live long in the memory. The Magpies have made a habit of not winning away to this team; before this, they’d only done it twice since 2001. But this game was different. This game was painted black and white, one more game in early February all that stands between them, the Wembley Arch and a shot at a first trophy in 56 long years.
The lineups
ARS: Raya; Lewis-Skelly, Gabriel, Saliba, Timber; Rice, Partey, Ødegaard; Trossard, Havertz, Martinelli
NEW: Dúbravka; Hall, Burn, Botman, Livramento; Joelinton, Tonali, Willock; Gordon, Isak, Murphy
FEATURED IMAGE: Tom McAtee