Carabao Cup: Mikel Arteta Laments As Newcastle United Knockout Arsenal

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has blamed his team’s inability to score goals for their Carabao Cup semi-final exit against Newcastle United on Wednesday night, February 5.

Mikel Arteta watched on the sidelines as Newcastle used Arsenal to take a step closer to ending their 56-year wait for a major trophy as they booked themselves a place in the Carabao Cup final.

Under the guidance of coach Eddie Howe, Newcastle, who led 2-0 from the first leg of the semi-final, completed their mission and will now face either Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley, just one win away from their first major title since the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1969.

The match started positively for Newcastle, with Alexander Isak’s goal being ruled offside, but it wasn’t long before Jacob Murphy capitalized on a rebound, scoring in the 19th minute after Isak’s shot hit ....

This goal came shortly after Martin Odegaard narrowly missed the opportunity to give Arsenal a foothold, hitting ... with only Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka to beat.

With the passionate support of the Toon Army, Newcastle struck again in the 52nd minute, taking advantage of an error from Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya. Attempting to pass to Declan Rice, who was closely marked by Fabian Schar, Raya lost possession, allowing Anthony Gordon to score easily and send his team back to Wembley.

The Geordie fans are eager to move past their previous loss to Manchester United in the EFL Cup final two years ago, as they aim to secure their first domestic trophy since winning the FA Cup in 1955.

On the other hand, Arsenal’s hopes for a trophy this season have taken a hit, with the 2-0 defeat at St James’ Park resulting in a 4-0 aggregate loss in the Carabao Cup semi-final.

After the unexpected exit from the Carabao Cup, Mikel Arteta told reporters that if Arsenal had been more effective in the opponents’ eighteen-yard box, the outcome of the tie would have been different.

Arteta said, “We had so many expectations to turn this around but we didn’t get any momentum despite having some big moments in the first half. We didn’t capitalize and the next action they scored. The game then shifted. We then needed to stay cool to score a goal but we didn’t manage to do that. Then, in the second half, we struggled as the game went b,y, and the game went away from us.

“When you want to win trophies you need to be effective in the boxes. We have played two games against them and haven’t [been effective]. Overall that was the main difference. Today, we were a little unsettled when the game became more chaotic. We are normally more composed, but we lacked a bit of that.

“We knew that would be a high intensity, and emotionally, it was a different game to believe we could get there. And before we expected the game got away from us.

“We need to swallow this one – it’s a tough one. We had a lot of expectations. There is nothing we can do now – we had to do it on the pitch. Now we have to look forward. It’s a painful one. We have to recharge in Dubai as we have a lot to play for.

“Errors are part of football, but we are usually super consistent and composed, but today, we gave them hope. We allowed them to run and we were vulnerable – they are a dangerous team when they could do that.”

Mikel Arteta’s squad remains in contention for the Premier League title, currently sitting six points behind Liverpool, and has advanced to the last 16 of the Champions League.

However, if they are unable to secure a trophy from either competition, their trophy wait will extend to a sixth season since their last success in the 2020 FA Cup.