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

The Saudi-backed northeast club beat Arsenal 2-0 in the second leg of the semifinals Wednesday 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, with the return match at Anfield on Thursday.

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.

“Play like that and we can dream big,” Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes said after the Arsenal match. “It would be amazing in my first season as the captain to lift a trophy, it is my dream.”

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 against Newcastle at Emirates Stadium last month.

Mikel Arteta’s team failed to handle the lively atmosphere inside St. James’, with its usually solid defense 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 trialed 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.

The ball flew straight to Gordon, who swiveled and shot into the bottom corner past stranded goalkeeper David Raya.

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

Newcastle fans taunted Arsenal’s manager in the last few minutes, singing: “Mikel Arteta, it must be the ball.” It was a reference to Arteta saying after the first leg that the ball used in the League Cup was “very different to a Premier League ball” after his team missed several chances.

And Gordon appeared to deliver a post-match dig at Arsenal, whose players and fans had delighted in goading Man City striker Erling Haaland on Sunday for his “stay humble” comment in the previous match between the teams.

“It is important for us to stay humble now,” Gordon said ahead of the final. “It will be a big occasion but it’s so far away.”

LONDON: Ange Postecoglou said Mathys Tel is “100 percent” committed to Tottenham after the French forward signed on loan despite reportedly rejecting a move to the club earlier in the January transfer window.
Tottenham were busy in the final hours of Monday’s deadline day as they bolstered Postecoglou’s injury-ravaged squad, bringing in Tel and defender Kevin Danso.
Bayern Munich’s Tel, 19, was also linked with Manchester United and Arsenal before opting for Tottenham, who have an option to make the move permanent in the summer transfer window.
Postecoglou, whose team take a 1-0 lead into Thursday’s League Cup semifinal second-leg at Liverpool, told his pre-match press conference that Tel had been right to take his time over such a major decision.
“It’s not so much that he rejected us or rejected anyone else,” said the Spurs manager. “Rightly so he was getting as much information as possible.”
The Australian added: “I had a conversation with him and I guess mine was purely around the football and I think he’ll find a really great place here in terms of where he is in his career.
“He obviously wants to play. We’ve already shown that irrespective of age, he’ll get an opportunity here, and the way we play will suit him.

“Certainly with what we have in the next few months and then more importantly what we’re building beyond, I thought he would be a perfect fit.”
When asked if he felt the France under-21 international was fully committed to Spurs, Postecoglou said: “Yes, 100 percent. I am more than 100 percent sure because he took so much time, was so diligent about finding out everything when he made a decision that it’s us.
“He obviously had options and that sort of gave me even more confidence that we are getting the right kind of mentality, the right kind of player.
“He is very ambitious. He’s got a great deal of self-belief and self-confidence. He feels he can reach the top of the game and he has chosen us, which is a great vindication of what we are doing.”
Tel and Danso will both be available for Thursday’s match at Anfield, but Micky van de Ven and fellow center-back Cristian Romero are set to miss out, with Postecoglou taking a “conservative” approach after the duo’s injury absences.
Tottenham are one match away from a League Cup final at Wembley as they seek to end a trophy drought that stretches back to 2008.
Former Celtic boss Postecoglou, in his second season at Tottenham, put himself under pressure earlier in the campaign when he said he “always wins things in my second year.”
But he said Premier League leaders and League Cup holders Liverpool would also be feeling the pressure.
“I don’t think Liverpool will be any less anxious than us about the fixture,” he said. “You’re in a semifinal, particularly a second leg and it’s still very tight.
“It’s a big game for both clubs so you recognize that, you embrace that but ultimately if you want to be successful these are the games you want to be involved in.”