Newcastle United moved a giant step closer to ending a 56-year wait to win a major trophy as they secured a place in the Carabao Cup final with victory over Arsenal after an emotional night on Tyneside.
Eddie Howe’s side, who held a 2-0 advantage from the semi-final first leg, completed the second part of the assignment, and will now face Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley.
Newcastle made a flying start into the match as Alexander Isak escaped behind the Arsenal defence and found the net with a brutal, devastating finish but his goal was ruled out for offside by the VAR.
Their efforts later bore fruit as Jacob Murphy turned home a rebound in the 19th minute after the Sweden striker’s shot hit the post.
The goal came seconds after Martin Odegaard missed what turned out to be Arsenal’s best chance of turning this semi-final around, glancing the post with only keeper Martin Dubravka to beat.
Another injury concern arose for Arsenal – who did not sign a forward in the January transfer window – before the break when Gabriel Martinelli went to the ground holding his hamstring and was swiftly replaced by Ethan Nwaneri.
In a chaotic atmosphere, with the Toon Army cheering their team on loudly, Newcastle struck the decisive blow after 52 minutes due to a disastrous moment for Arsenal keeper David Raya.
Raya played the ball to Declan Rice, who was pressed and dispossessed by Fabian Schar, with the loose ball springing for Gordon, who struck low into the bottom-left corner to send Newcastle back to Wembley.
