Football writer Tom Hancock analyses Tuesday night's EFL Cup semi-final first leg at Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal 0-2 Newcastle United
Rampant Newcastle United laid down a marker for what they might be able to achieve in the second half of the Premier League season with a thoroughly impressive win at Arsenal in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final.
Newcastle’s current run of seven straight victories in all competitions is their longest since 2016, when they were in the Championship, and their longest as a top-flight side since 2005, when they won eight on the bounce.
As the Premier League pauses for the third round of the FA Cup, Eddie Howe’s men are in great form team, having taken 15 points from the last 15 on offer in the Premier League.
They are going to take some stopping if they continue to turn in the kind of masterclass which saw them beat the Gunners for the second time this season, having won 1-0 in November's encounter at St James' Park.
Anthony Gordon scored Newcastle's second goal of the night and celebrated with his arm on the corner flag - a celebration that Arsenal legend Thierry Henry became renowned for.
A fifth clean sheet in seven matches for the Magpies came from an all-action defensive display in which they consistently thwarted an Arsenal side who put up 3.09 Expected Goals (xG) on the night, with Newcastle blocking 10 of their opponents’ 23 shots.
It’s the latest sign that Newcastle have returned to the levels of robustness in their rearguard which were so crucial to their UEFA Champions League qualification in 2022/23, when they equalled champions Manchester City for the fewest goals conceded in the Premier League that campaign, with 33.
They will no doubt take extra encouragement from the fact that they firmly nullified Arsenal’s renowned set-piece threat, shutting Mikel Arteta’s team out despite facing 11 corners.
At the other end of the pitch, man of the moment Alexander Isak maintained his scintillating form with a 10th goal in eight appearances in all competitions.
Isak's goal v Arsenal
Another game, another goal for Alexander Isak! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/qATHHHrndX
— Newcastle United (@NUFC) January 7, 2025
It was Isak's 50th goal for Newcastle in all competitions and he reached the milestone in his 89th match, making him the third-fastest player to reach a half-century for the club since the Premier League started.
The only players to do so quicker were Les Ferdinand, who took 84 matches, and Andrew Cole, who amazingly scored 50 goals in his first 50 matches. Alan Shearer, the Premier League's all-time leading scorer, took five more Newcastle matches than Isak to reach a half-century.
Fewest matches to reach 50 goals
| Player | Matches |
|---|---|
| Andy Cole | 50 |
| Les Ferdinand | 84 |
| Alexander Isak | 89 |
| Alan Shearer | 94 |
Since Isak's Newcastle debut in August 2022, only Erling Haaland (105) and Mohamed Salah (73) have scored more goals in all competitions among Premier League players.
With Newcastle hosting League Two side Bromley in the FA Cup on Sunday, Isak will surely expect to be rested ahead of next Wednesday’s home match against Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he could become only the fifth player to score in eight successive Premier League outings.
As for Arsenal, there ought not be too much concern in the grand scheme of things. Arteta’s side were considerably more creative than they were in Saturday’s 1-1 Premier League draw at Brighton & Hove Albion; rather, this was a rare occasion on which they did not take their chances.
If they create to the same extent in their next league encounter, a home match against a Tottenham Hotspur side who are missing most of their rearguard, then the goals could flow as they did in recent wins over two other London opponents, a 3-1 success at Brentford and 5-1 thumping of Crystal Palace.
Back-to-back home Premier League fixtures against Spurs and an inconsistent Aston Villa team could provide Arsenal with a platform to regather some momentum in the title race.
Arsenal's next five PL fixtures
Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United last time out means that the Gunners, who face Man Utd themselves in the FA Cup third round this Sunday, still have Arne Slot's leaders just about in their sights.
And Arteta might just be relishing a return to Premier League action for a different reason, too: he won’t have to worry about the “tricky” balls used in the EFL Cup.
Speaking after Tuesday night's defeat, the Arsenal manager explained, "We kicked a lot of balls over the bar, and it's tricky that these balls fly a lot so there's details that we can do better," he said.
"It's very different to a Premier League ball and you have to adapt to that because it flies different. When you touch it the grip is very different as well, so you have to adapt to that.
"But at the end that's gone - there's no way back, it's about the next game and that's our world, the reality is our world."
See: Arsenal report | Newcastle report
EFL Cup semi-final results and fixtures
First leg
7 Jan Arsenal 0-2 Newcastle
8 Jan Spurs v Liverpool
Second leg
5 Feb Newcastle v Arsenal
6 Feb Liverpool v Spurs
