Newcastle Defeats Arsenal, Reaches Carabao Cup Final

Newcastle United reached a second Carabao Cup final in three seasons as they overwhelmed Arsenal 2-0 at St James’ Park on Wednesday to complete a crushing 4-0 aggregate win.

Moments after Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard wasted a chance to halve the deficit, Jacob Murphy tucked away a rebound in the 19th minute after Alexander Isak’s shot hit the woodwork.

The Gunners suffered a further setback when Gabriel Martinelli left the pitch with a hamstring injury before halftime. With fellow forwards Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka also injured, that moment could yet have wider significance for Arsenal’s season.

• Read more: Newcastle Stuns Arsenal In Carabao Cup Semis

Arsenal’s fate was sealed when Anthony Gordon punished a defensive error in the 52nd minute to put the hosts in cruise control.

With the pre-match tension lifted, Newcastle were able to cruise through the rest of the game against an Arsenal side who will now have to dust themselves down and focus on trying to chase down Liverpool in the Premier League title race.

Newcastle, who have not won a major trophy since 1955, will play either Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur in the Wembley final next month when they hope to go one better than 2023 when they lost in the final to Manchester United.

⚫️⚪️ @NUFC ARE OFF TO WEMBLEY!#EFL | #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/qMgyKPwduo

— Carabao Cup (@Carabao_Cup) February 5, 2025

“I was very happy (Odegaard) missed it,” Newcastle’s Brazilian skipper Bruno Guimaraes said. “That was a big opportunity for them and then I think less than two minutes later we score. It was a game changer.

“I felt anxious before the game, big game, Arsenal a top, top team but when we play like that we become an amazing team. Play like that and we can dream big.”

Based on the evidence of their crushing 5-1 victory over Manchester City on Sunday, it seemed entirely feasible that Arsenal might buck that trend and ruin the Geordie party.

In the end it was a night of joy as Newcastle’s long-suffering fans scent another shot at silverware.