Even though Newcastle United defeated Arsenal 2-0 on Tuesday, putting his winning team within striking distance of a spot in the League Cup final, manager Eddie Howe recommended caution.
In north London, goals from Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak either side of halftime handed Newcastle their seventh straight victory across all competitions and placed them in control of the second leg at St. James’ Park in February.
Arsenal has a steep hill to climb if they want to maintain their ambitions of winning the League Cup for a third time.
This is the eighth time since 1987–88 that an away team had a two-goal advantage from the first leg and went on to the final.
Howe also led Newcastle to the 2023 League Cup final, although they lost to Manchester United at Wembley, missing out on their first trophy since 1955.
At the final whistle, the ecstatic Toon Army celebrated, but Howe stated that there was still more work to be done to prepare for a final matchup with either Tottenham Hotspur or Liverpool.
“Today is another big step forward when you look at the recent run we’ve had away from home,” Howe told Sky Sports after his side’s seventh successive win in all competitions.
“We played with real confidence and belief but in terms of the tie it’s still very much alive and finely balanced and we have a really tough home leg to come.”
Although Howe acknowledged that his team was faltering in the second half as Arsenal frantically tried to rally, he expressed pride in the way his squad played defence.
“There was a lot of fatigue in the second half,” he said.
“We started off on the front foot but then we fatigued and then it was about our mentality to defend.
“We knew what was at stake and the players put their bodies on the line.”
