Newcastle one win away from ending 70-year trophy wait

Newcastle United are back in the English League Cup final for another chance to end their 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy.

The Saudi-controlled northeast club beat Arsenal 2-0 in the second leg of the semi-finals on Wednesday night to advance 4-0 on aggregate. Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon scored the goals at a boisterous St. James’ Park.

Newcastle will play either Tottenham or Liverpool in the March 16 final at Wembley Stadium. Tottenham lead 1-0 after the first leg — the second leg is Thursday at Anfield.

For Newcastle, it marks another opportunity to capture a first piece of silverware since being bought by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund in 2021. Newcastle’s last trophy was the now-defunct Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1969 and the most recent domestic title was the FA Cup in 1955.

Newcastle reached the 2023 League Cup final, but lost 2-0 to Manchester United.

Arsenal arrived buoyed by a 5-1 thrashing of Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday and looking to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg at Emirates Stadium last month.

Mikel Arteta’s team failed to handle the lively atmosphere inside St. James’, with its usually solid defence looking fragile and almost conceding after just four minutes when Alexander Isak was played through on goal and finished into the top corner. It was disallowed for offside following a video review and the decision was announced to fans inside the stadium by the referee via a wireless microphone — a practice being trialled in the English League Cup ahead of use in the Premier League.

After Martin Odegaard hit the post for Arsenal, Newcastle took the lead in the 19th when Isak struck a shot against the post and Murphy converted the rebound.

Arsenal’s remote chances of a comeback were further hit when Gabriel Martinelli went off with a muscle injury before halftime, and Gordon virtually secured Newcastle’s place in the title match by scoring the second after Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice was dispossessed outside his area by a sliding Fabian Schar.

Arsenal, two-time League Cup winners, were looking to reach the final for the first time since 2018, when they lost 3-0 to Manchester City.