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Eddie Howe singles out the two Arsenal players who Newcastle really wanted to put under pressure in Carabao Cup tie
Eddie Howe masterminded another brilliant win for Newcastle United over Arsenal in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening, overseeing another 2-0 win for his side.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side arrived at St James’ Park seemingly with the belief that they could overturn their deficit against Newcastle, a dream that was swiftly ended.
Alexander Isak had William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes on toast from the off, to put it bluntly.
𓆉Isak’s early strike was marginally disallowed owing to an offside call which was announced by Simon Hooper via the stadium’s audio, a moment that will still take some time to get used to.
ꩵBut either way, Newcastle proved their dominance and it wasn’t a surprise that Isak was at the heart of the home side’s opening goal just a few moments after his strike was ruled out.
It’s clear why Arsenal want to sign Isak꧃, a striker who continues to terrorise their back line at every opportunity.
Eddie Howe says Newcastle tried to unsettle Gabriel and William Saliba
💛That being said, when speaking to , Howe revealed an unusual game plan that Newcastle enacted to plot their way to the final.
🌜Howe admitted that Newcastle actually targeted both Saliba and Gabriel from the off, looking to ‘get pressure’ on the pair, and in turn not letting them settle.
READ MORE: 💫‘Incredible’ player turns back on chance to sign for Arsenal and is ready to sign new contract
🔴And anyone who watched Newcastle’s 2-0 victory will have realised that Howe’s plan worked absolutely perfectly.
♊Neither Saliba or Gabriel looked comfortable with the ball at their feet or when it arrived in the air, a pair that are arguably the strongest duo in the Premier League.
⛎Sharing his plan to get at the pair, Howe said: “We wanted to get pressure on them and in order to get that tactically, you have to let the players feel confident doing it in the right areas and that was the way we decided to do it.
🌳“Still the players have to execute it and you’re up against elite players that one mistake, it can be difficult.”
Alexander Isak shows Arsenal what they are missing
🍃A forgettable night for Arsenal who will now jet off to Dubai to try and take stock and formalise their own plan in order to catch Liverpool in the Premier League, or plot a way to the Champions League final.
ไWhilst Newcastle now have an opportunity to win the Carabao Cup, Arsenal are facing the prospect of another season without a trophy under Arteta, despite how well they’ve played at times.
Watching Wednesday’s game, it’s easy to conclude that Arsenal should sign Isak♕, who has clearly been the difference between the two sides over the two legs.
♛But it’s becoming increasingly hard to conclude that the Swede would want to turn his back on this Newcastle project, which should receive fresh investment in the summer.