. Newcastle fans must have felt confident of booking a spot at Wembley at the time, though recent form has perhaps given them some cause for concern.
Newcastle have lost two of their last three games – 4-1 to Bournemouth and 2-1 to Fulham. Crucially, both defeats have been at St James’ Park. To add to their pre-match jitters, Arsenal are in great form. They have won five of their last six matches and have just hammered the league champions Manchester City 5-1.
The Arsenal players could not be more confident. “We are going to go there to win the game and to score three, four, five,” said Gabriel Martinelli when asked about the tie. “We have an amazing team and we trust ourselves. We have full confidence in our squad.”
The good news for Newcastle, though, is that Bruno Guimarães and Fabian Schär will be available after both missed the first leg. The Brazilian’s return is particularly important given his compatriot Joelinton is expected to miss out with a knee injury. Nick Pope is back, though Callum Wilson, Jamaal Lascelles and Harvey Barnes continue to miss out. Arsenal suffered no fresh injury scares on Sunday but Bukayo Saka, Ben White, Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu are still absent.
Myles Lewis-Skelly impressed in the win over City after his ban was overturned and he may continue at left-back, while Ethan Nwaneri, who has excelled in the League Cup this season, could start from the right flank having come off the bench and scored on Sunday.
Arsenal have the wind in their sails but they have lost three of their last four games at St James’ Park. Newcastle fans have not seen their team win a major trophy in 70 years, so the stadium will be rocking. They won’t get many …
Read More
