Football

ARSENAL fans will have nightmares AND Swede dreams – after Alexander Isak turned their Carabao Cup hopes sour.Gunners’ supporters would love to see Mikel Arteta sign the £150million-rated striker – as he showed just what they are missing.Alexander Isak was ice-cool as he helped down Arsenal in the first legCredit: GettyIsak’s predatory instincts are just what the Gunners needCredit: GettyUnfortunately for Arsenal, he did it by firing Newcastle to a 2-0 semi-final first leg win at the Emirates.It’s been 70 years since the Magpies last won a major domestic cup, 56 years since any trophy at all.But after this victory you’d put your money on Newcastle being just one month away from the Carabao Cup final.Swedish hitman Isak slotted a clinical opener and Anthony Gordon set them up promisingly for the return leg at St James’ Park on February 5 by doubling their victory margin early in the second period.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLThere’s still plenty to do for the Magpies but Eddie Howe’s men are looking good in more ways than one to make Wembley on March 16.Newcastle lost 2-0 to Manchester United in the 2023 final.But at the moment the Toon are flowing, whereas Arteta’s side were a major disappointment.Despite that, the Gunners were pretty unlucky to be trailing at the break.Most read in FootballFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSArsenal had a fair few chances before the interval, Gabriel Martinelli hitting the post, but they were really poor in the second half.Newcastle did enough, with Isak taking his tally to seven goals in the last five games and 50 since joining from Real Sociedad in 2022.Arsenal player vs Newcastle in the Carabao Cup first leg tie at the Emirates (1)Once again Jacob Murphy delivered the assist. The English winger has been unbelievable this season for the Toon.It’s his best campaign since arriving seven years ago for £12 million and Isak must relish playing with him.You can see why Arsenal fans watching this semi-final would have been wishing Isak played for their team.He’s got Thierry Henry-style qualities – a class player, getting better each week and the reason Newcastle have got such a great chance of ending their trophy drought.Isak is also why the Magpies are serious contenders for a top-four finish.They’re helped by the fact their defence is playing really well.Newcastle were really solid at the Emirates, particularly in the second period.Dan Burn, at 32, is arguably having his finest campaign.And Sven Botman, in only his second game since returning from an ACL injury picked up in March, headed a flick-on which led to Isak’s opener.The Dutch centre-back looked a bit rusty in Saturday’s 2-1 Prem win at Tottenham but was immense on Tuesday night.Howe is in the fortunate position that he can actually rest a few players against Bromley in the FA Cup on Sunday.In contrast, Arteta is badly missing Bukayo Saka and faces another massive cup game at home to Manchester United on the same day.Arsenal are really struggling in terms of a jam-packed January.It’s nine matches so far, which is an extraordinary number of fixtures, but they’ve got to somehow overcome it.At the moment, however, they look flat.Supporters were streaming out of the exits against Newcastle with about ten minutes to go, and they need someone to lift them.READ MORE SUN STORIESOrdinarily you’d say that man would be Saka, but the Gunners have got to get used to being without him for a couple more months.Meanwhile, it’s seven wins in a row for the Magpies and they’re absolutely flying.Arsenal ratings vs Newcastle as Havertz fluffs golden chance with academy statlet the only bright light for GunnersARSENAL have a mountain to climb to reach the Carabao Cup final after a shock 2-0 first-leg defeat to Newcastle.Here SunSport’s Jordan Davies rates every Arsenal player on a disappointing night at the Emirates…DAVID RAYA – 6/10Looked nervy with ball at feet at times but could do nothing to stop Alexander Isak’s brilliant close-range finish.Unlucky to see his palmed save tapped in by Anthony Gordon.MYLES LEWIS-SKELLY – 8The academy product was very impressive again. Turned out of danger well at both ends of the pitch. So calm under pressure.GABRIEL – 6Gave Isak far too much space to manoeuvre a shot in the box before the Toon’s second. Wasteful and ineffective from corners.WILLIAM SALIBA – 6Had an early effort blocked near the line by Dan Burn. Was dealing with Isak well until losing a header to Sven Botman that saw the Toon striker score.JURRIEN TIMBER – 5Missed an absolute sitter from a yard out from a corner.Was then caught sleeping just after the break to allow Gordon to double Newcastle’s lead.THOMAS PARTEY – 6Linked defence and attack fairly well without ever really doing anything spectacular.DECLAN RICE – 6Plays Jacob Murphy onside from a flicked on free-kick that leads to Newcastle taking the lead.Took more responsibility in the second half on the ball.MARTIN ODEGAARD – 7Heavily man-marked by Joelinton but looked back to his very best after a spate of illness.GABRIEL MARTINELLI – 8Much more direct in his running. Unlucky not to open the scoring with his driven shot hitting the post after a half-way line sprint.Continued to be positive in his play – just lacked the finishing touch.LEANDRO TROSSARD – 6Sneakily got away with dragging Isak down to stop the Swede joining a Newcastle counter in the first half and a good first-time pass to set Martinelli away. Those were his only highlights.KAI HAVERTZ – 5May just be back from a sickness bug, but the big German did very little, apart from somehow fluffing a header wide unmarked from six yards.SUBS:JORGINHO (PARTEY, 59) – 7Some nice passes into dangerous areas and sprayed the ball about with conviction.GABRIEL JESUS (TROSSARD, 59) – 6Lively and sharp without every really testing Newcastle’s back four or goal.OLEKSANDR ZINCHENKO (LEWIS-SKELLY, 77) – 5Booked within a minute of coming on for a rash challenge on Joelinton. More

THE comparisons between Alexander Isak and Thierry Henry are frequent and obvious.And here, against the club where the great Frenchman became Invincible, Newcastle’s lethal Swede sent his side to the brink of a second Carabao Cup Final in three years.Alexander Isak fired Newcastle to victory in the first leg of their Carabao semi against ArsenalCredit: ReutersAnthony Gordon was also in target as Toon won 2-0 at the EmiratesCredit: GettyArsenal failed to get going on a miserable night for their fansCredit: GettyThe Gunners will need a miracle to turn things around at St James’ ParkCredit: GettyJust a month ago, the Geordie Arabia revolution seemed to have stalled.After a miserable beating at Brentford, Eddie Howe’s men were marooned in the bottom half of the Premier League table with the club’s spending plans frustrated by Profit and Sustainability Rules.The turnaround since has been staggering – seven straight victories, powered by Isak’s goals.Like Henry, he is tall, languid, dangerous coming off the left flank and dead-eyed in front of goal.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLHere, he netted a tenth goal in nine appearances, then produced the shot which led to Anthony Gordon’s second.Arsenal’s hopes in the second leg – which is, ridiculously, being staged four weeks from now on February 5 – are slim, approaching zero.This was a hideous night for Mikel Arteta who saw his own set-piece specialists concede from the most basic of up-and-under free-kicks.The Gunners dominated possession and the shot count but were hopeless in both boxes.Most read in FootballFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSWithout Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard seems to lack spark and Arsenal are often prone to looking bang average in attack. Arsenal have seven fixtures in three different competitions before the return leg. Perhaps this will give them time to forget what a disaster this first leg had been.Arsenal player vs Newcastle in the Carabao Cup first leg tie at the Emirates (1)Arsenal haven’t won the League Cup for 32 years, while Newcastle have never got their hands on the trophy.And while Arteta has propelled the Gunners into title contention over the previous couple of seasons, his side haven’t won any silverware since his old mate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang fired them to the FA Cup in 2020. Howe’s men, who had racked up countless celebratory dressing-room teamshots on their recent winning run – were without the suspended Bruno Guimaraes but it scarcely seemed to matter.After dropping points at Brighton on Saturday, the Gunners welcomed back Kai Havertz, who’d missed the previous two matches through illness. The clashes between these two sides became extremely heated over the past couple – Arteta spewing that his side had been robbed at St James’ Park last season.Arsenal ratings vs Newcastle as Havertz fluffs golden chance with academy statlet the only bright light for GunnersARSENAL have a mountain to climb to reach the Carabao Cup final after a shock 2-0 first-leg defeat to Newcastle.Here SunSport’s Jordan Davies rates every Arsenal player on a disappointing night at the Emirates…DAVID RAYA – 6/10Looked nervy with ball at feet at times but could do nothing to stop Alexander Isak’s brilliant close-range finish.Unlucky to see his palmed save tapped in by Anthony Gordon.MYLES LEWIS-SKELLY – 8The academy product was very impressive again. Turned out of danger well at both ends of the pitch. So calm under pressure.GABRIEL – 6Gave Isak far too much space to manoeuvre a shot in the box before the Toon’s second. Wasteful and ineffective from corners.WILLIAM SALIBA – 6Had an early effort blocked near the line by Dan Burn. Was dealing with Isak well until losing a header to Sven Botman that saw the Toon striker score.JURRIEN TIMBER – 5Missed an absolute sitter from a yard out from a corner.Was then caught sleeping just after the break to allow Gordon to double Newcastle’s lead.THOMAS PARTEY – 6Linked defence and attack fairly well without ever really doing anything spectacular.DECLAN RICE – 6Plays Jacob Murphy onside from a flicked on free-kick that leads to Newcastle taking the lead.Took more responsibility in the second half on the ball.MARTIN ODEGAARD – 7Heavily man-marked by Joelinton but looked back to his very best after a spate of illness.GABRIEL MARTINELLI – 8Much more direct in his running. Unlucky not to open the scoring with his driven shot hitting the post after a half-way line sprint.Continued to be positive in his play – just lacked the finishing touch.LEANDRO TROSSARD – 6Sneakily got away with dragging Isak down to stop the Swede joining a Newcastle counter in the first half and a good first-time pass to set Martinelli away. Those were his only highlights.KAI HAVERTZ – 5May just be back from a sickness bug, but the big German did very little, apart from somehow fluffing a header wide unmarked from six yards.SUBS:JORGINHO (PARTEY, 59) – 7Some nice passes into dangerous areas and sprayed the ball about with conviction.GABRIEL JESUS (TROSSARD, 59) – 6Lively and sharp without every really testing Newcastle’s back four or goal.OLEKSANDR ZINCHENKO (LEWIS-SKELLY, 77) – 5Booked within a minute of coming on for a rash challenge on Joelinton.Isak gave Newcastle the lead in the 37th minuteCredit: GettyThe striker kept his amazing goal-scoring run goingCredit: ReutersEarly on, Joelinton spooned a shot over early on, then William Saliba had a shot blocked by Dan Burn.The Geordie alarm bells started ringing when Arsenal won one of their dreaded corners – Declan Rice whipped an in-swinger and Jurrien Timber rose to head over from close range.It was end to end and compelling. Soon, Isak was wriggling free and teeing up Lewis Hall for a shot which Saliba hacked clear.Arsenal had been struggling to break down Newcastle’s defence but when they were able to sit deep and launch a counter, Arteta’s men were inches away from the lead.Leandro Trossard released Gabriel Martinelli, who galloped clear from the halfway line and drilled a shot against the post. Gordon doubled Toon’s lead early in the second halfCredit: GettyHis strike sent the visiting fans into rapturesCredit: AFPWhen another Rice corner arrived, Toon keeper Martin Dubravka dropped it, causing an almighty scramble with Timber attempting a back-heel Sven Botman making a saving block from Havertz.So it was against the run of play when Newcastle grabbed the lead, Martin Dubravka punted a free-kick forward, Botman won a header and Jacob Murphy was able to tee up Isak to ram home off the underside of the bar.Arsenal’s defending resembled a game of musical statues – freeze when the ball comes close – and Arteta was raging on the touchline. His side have earned many comparisons with Tony Pulis’ Stoke, due to their attacking set-piece prowess but that bruising Potters side would never have conceded this goal.For Isak, it was a 50th Newcastle strike in just 89 appearances.Kai Havertz was guilty of missing several clear chancesCredit: GettyThe German looked off the pace on his return from injuryCredit: ReutersJoelinton was booked for chopping down Thomas Partey on the edge of the Newcastle box but Odegaard planted the resulting free-kick into the wall.It summed up a frustrating first half for the hosts.But far worse was to come at the start of the second half, when Murphy picked out Isak with a sweet pass and the Swede’s shot, bound for the far corner, was pushed out by David Raya, only as far as Gordon who beat Timber to poke home the rebound.Once more Arsenal’s defending left much to be desired.Havertz was soon heading wide, seemingly in slow motion, when Trossard located him four yards out.Arteta sent for Gabriel Jesus and Jorginho but his side continued to pass up opportunities and began to run out of ideas.READ MORE SUN STORIESMikel Arteta has plenty to think about for the return legCredit: EPANewcastle have one foot in the final at WembleyCredit: GettyNewcastle froze when they faced Manchester United in the final of this competition two years ago.But unless there is a miracle in that distant second leg, the Toon Army will be marching on Wembley again with genuine hope of a first major trophy in 56 years. 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