Arsenal and Newcastle United meet in the first of the EFL Cup semi-finals, but which of these two clubs needs a trophy more, and who might want to remain focussed on the League instead?
By Ian King
Two forms sides
Both teams come into this match in rich veins of form. Following their 1-1 draw at Brighton on Saturday, Arsenal are now ten games unbeaten and with their title chase back on. Newcastle, meanwhile, made slightly harder work of beating Spurs than had been expected at the weekend, but have now won their last five in a row in the league. Arsenal have beaten Bolton, Preston and Crystal Palace to get this far, while Newcastle, who entered a round earlier, have already beaten Nottingham Forest, Wimbledon, Chelsea and Brentford. On paper there’s not much between these two.
History
Newcastle have won three of their last four home matches against Arsenal, but the bigger issue comes when they’ve had to travel south. They haven’t beaten them away since 2010, and furthermore Arsenal have won all three of their previous meetings in the EFL Cup. You have to go back almost 73 years to the 1952 FA Cup final for Newcastle’s last win against Arsenal in any cup competition.
A chance to rotate?
With this being the Carabao we can probably expect changes from both Mikel Arteta and Eddie Howe, but that opens the door to the question of who wants it more. Newcastle haven’t won a major trophy since – depending on whether you consider the former of these to be ‘major’ – the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup or the 1955 FA Cup. Arsenal haven’t won anything since the 2020 FA Cup. So the greater question here is probably who’ll take a greater interest in trying to end their dry spell in this competition.
Team News
Bukayo Saka (hamstring), Raheem Sterling (knee), Ben White (knee) and Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) are all missing for Arsenal, while Kai Havertz has been getting over an illness and may not be available, and there are doubts over Ethan Nwaneri following his early withdrawal at Brighton. Jurrien Timber returns from suspension.
Fabian Schär and Bruno Guimarães are both suspended for Newcastle, while Nick Pope (knee), Callum Wilson (thigh) and Jamaal Lascelles (knee) all remain injured. Lloyd Kelly, Sean Longstaff or Joe Willock could be drafted in. But as ever with the Carabao Cup, expect changes from the weekend.
Prediction
So, how important is this match to these two teams, then? For Newcastle, this year marks the 70th anniversary of their last major domestic trophy; so long ago that the competition they’re playing in tonight didn’t even exist at that time. For Arsenal, with the Champions League, the FA Cup and the Premier League still to play for, it may be a slightly lower priority. With Newcastle’s strong recent defensive record, it might be time for them to take something from a trip to Arsenal for the first time in years. With that, I’m going for a 1-1 draw, leaving all to play for at St James’ Park in the second leg (being played 5 Feb).
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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