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Mikel Arteta held back on his praise for Newcastle United following Arsenal’s 2-0 Carabao Cup semi-final defeat at St James’ Park on Wednesday night.
Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon scored in either half to ensure Newcastle’s progress to the Carabao Cup final once again. The Magpies won the semi-final tie 4-0 on aggregate, having beaten Arsenal 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium last month.
Newcastle also beat Arsenal 1-0 at St James’ Park in the Premier League back in November. The Gunners have lost five matches so far this season in all competitions, with Eddie Howe’s side inflicting three of those defeats without conceding.
When asked about how tough an opponent Newcastle is to come up against for his side, Arteta was blunt in his response.
“Yes, it’s a tough opponent,” he said.
The match was Arsenal’s 11th match of 2025 so far just over a month into the new year.
“Physically, we were tired,” Arteta admitted. “We have played so many games. Emotionally as well, it was a very different game to believe right there in the end that we could do it.”
“We had so many expectations to believe we could turn it around. The game started in the first action with the goal and it being denied. We had two moments, we didn’t capitalize and the game shifted.
“It’s a tough one. We knew the difficulty of the task from the result in London. Now we have to look forward, first of all its going to be a painful one. When we’re in Dubai, we recharge.”
The Carabao Cup final will take place at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, March 16. The Magpies will face the winners of the other semi-final between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur which is set to be concluded on Thursday evening at Anfield.
Spurs take a narrow 1-0 lead into the second leg away to Premier League leaders and Carabao Cup holders Liverpool. Newcastle last reached the Carabao Cup final back in 2023 where they were beaten 2-0 by Manchester United.
The club has never won the competition in its 65-year history and will be looking to end a 70-year wait for a domestic honour when they face either Spurs or Liverpool at Wembley next month.
