Newcastle beats Arsenal and back in League Cup final in bid to end 70-year wait for domestic trophy

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Newcastle’s Jacob Murphy, left, celebrates with teammates scoring his side’s first goal during the English League Cup soccer match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St. James’ Park stadium in Newcastle, England, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

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Newcastle’s Jacob Murphy celebrates scoring his side’s first goal during the English League Cup soccer match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St. James’ Park stadium in Newcastle, England, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

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Newcastle’s Alexander Isak celebrates with teammates after scoring his side’s first goal during the English League Cup soccer match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St. James’ Park stadium in Newcastle, England, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. The goal later was disallowed. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

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Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon shoots on goal during the English League Cup soccer match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St. James’ Park stadium in Newcastle, England, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

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Newcastle supporters cheer for their team during the English League Cup soccer match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St. James’ Park stadium in Newcastle, England, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

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Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard, left, and Arsenal’s Gabriel stand together during the English League Cup soccer match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St. James’ Park stadium in Newcastle, England, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

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Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon, left, celebrates scoring his side’s second goal during the English League Cup soccer match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St. James’ Park stadium in Newcastle, England, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

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Referee Simon Hooper reacts during the English League Cup soccer match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St. James’ Park stadium in Newcastle, England, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

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Arsenal’s manager Mikel Arteta watches his team during the English League Cup soccer match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St. James’ Park stadium in Newcastle, England, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

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Newcastle’s head coach Eddie Howe waves to supporters during the English League Cup soccer match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St. James’ Park stadium in Newcastle, England, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

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Referee Simon Hooper points after a disallowed goal during the English League Cup soccer match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St. James’ Park stadium in Newcastle, England, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

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Newcastle’s Alexander Isak reacts after his first goal wasn’t given during the English League Cup soccer match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St. James’ Park stadium in Newcastle, England, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

By STEVE DOUGLAS

Newcastle is back in the English League Cup final for another chance to end its 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy.

The Saudi-controlled 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 leads 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.

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Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly, bottom, celebrates scoring his side's 3rd goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Manchester City at the Emirates stadium in London, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

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Arsenal's Ethan Nwaneri, second from right, is congratulated after scoring his side's 5th goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Manchester City at the Emirates stadium in London, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

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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, a two-time League Cup winner, was 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.”

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Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer