Anthony Gordon appeared to aim a subtle dig at Arsenal following Newcastle’s Carabao Cup semi-final victory over Mikel Arteta’s side this evening.
Already trailing 2-0 from the first leg, the Gunners had a mountain to climb as Jacob Murphy beat David Raya on the rebound after Alexander Isak had fired against the post in the 19th minute at St James’ Park.
The visitors, fresh from their thumping 5-1 win over Manchester City in the Premier League, offered little in response and Gordon’s goal shortly into the second period – coming from a poor Raya pass – put the tie to bed.
A concerning hamstring injury to Gabriel Martinelli only added to Arsenal’s woes in the north east and Arteta’s men will look to bounce back away to Leicester after a warm-weather training camp in Dubai.
The Toon, meanwhile, will no doubt be watching on with interest tomorrow evening to discover who they will be facing at Wembley on March 16. Tottenham hold a 1-0 lead over Liverpool ahead of the second leg at Anfield.
‘It feels amazing. A proper team performance and we got the win,’ Newcastle goalscorer Gordon told Sky Sports shortly after the final whistle.
‘Our fans are never in question, they make it so difficult for the opposition and we did it the right way.’
What Gordon said next had some Newcastle fans in hysterics, with many convinced the winger had taken inspiration from Erling Haaland’s infamous ‘stay humble’ attack on Arteta to mock the Gunners.
‘We had a game plan we thought would work. Everyone knows we press,’ he added.
‘It is important for us to stay humble now.
‘It will be a big occasion but it’s so far away.’
Newcastle’s official account on X, formerly known as Twitter, rubbed more salt in the wound not long after, sharing picture of the matchball along with the caption ‘the culprit’.
It comes after Arteta suggested the type of ball used in this year’s Carabao Cup may have been partly responsible for Arsenal failings last time out at the Emirates
We wanted to get pressure on them
Newcastle’s manager, meanwhile, had nothing but praise for his players’ application over the two legs, telling Sky Sports: ‘We wanted to get pressure on them [William Saliba and Gabriel] and in order to do that we had to get bodies in the right areas and press high – that is how we decided to do it.
‘You know you are playing against elite players and one mistake can make things difficult. We had to be ourselves, be front foot. If not then it can quickly be 1-0 and 2-0 and then you are on the back foot.
‘We had to work on set plays as their set play threat is so high. In the reverse fixture there were some moments where we got a bit lucky.
‘Again our team selection was based on having height, especially without Joelinton, we needed Dan Burn, Fabian Schar and Sven Botman. We defended the set plays really well today.’
Howe added: ‘It is huge [to book a place at Wembley]. The first appearance there was a bit unexpected, but the club we want to be we have to be there regularly, so it’s not a surprise.
‘We are there on merit, our run has not been easy this year, we’ve faced four Premier League teams, so we have done the hard yards.
‘Hopefully we can learn from the last experience and improve our performance.’