Newcastle United Vs Arsenal, The Sweet Fruit of Eddie Howe's Bold Changes

NEWCASTLE, THURSDAY – Hosting Arsenal with a two-goal advantage from the first leg did not tempt Eddie Howe to play it safe in the second leg of the English League Cup semifinal. On the contrary, the Newcastle United manager dared to try a new approach.

Howe's bravery paid off with a 2-0 victory over the "London Cannons" at St James Park Stadium, early Thursday (6/2/2025) WIB. Thanks to this result, Newcastle has a great chance to end their 56-year trophy drought.

Newcastle only needs to secure a draw to reach the final thanks to their 2-0 victory at Arsenal's home ground in the first leg. However, Howe refused to play defensively to maintain the lead. Instead, he used this semifinal match as an opportunity to try a new approach.

Howe is known as a manager who likes to use the 4-3-3 formation. This time, he changed his approach by playing three defenders in a 3-4-3 formation. Since managing Newcastle, Howe has only used this formation six times.

In a three-back formation, Dan Burn, Fabian Schar, and Sven Botman are trusted as the last line of defense. Meanwhile, Kieran Trippier and Lewis Hall are instructed to move up to the midfield. The advancement of Trippier and Hall also pushes the positions of the two midfielders, Anthony Gordon and Jacob Murphy, further forward to support Alexander Isak in the attacking line.

When not in possession of the ball, Trippier and Hall quickly drop back to assist the three defenders at the back. This movement is also followed by Gordon and Murphy, who drop down to the midfield, thus changing Newcastle's formation to 5-4-1. The main idea behind Howe's change in formation approach is to prevent Arsenal from creating opportunities from aerial balls.

"We make changes and improvements depending on the opponent. You can see today there are many changes in our performance. But we feel we need more strength in the team. We want real solidity in the back line. So we felt we had to change to win the match and it came true today," said Howe after the match, quoted from Sky Sports.

Thanks to the courage to change formation, Arsenal only created three shots on target. In fact, the "London Gunners" dominated ball possession with a percentage reaching 69 percent.

In addition, Arsenal's number of accurate passes is also quite high, namely 351 times, higher than Newcastle who released 127 accurate passes. Despite dominating, in fact Arsenal's expected goal (xG) value is only 0.94, while Newcastle's reaches 1.71.

Not only is Newcastle adept at defending, they also know how to break down Arsenal's compact defense. Howe relies on direct play, knowing when to press, and clinical finishing.

Newcastle's two goals scored by Murphy in the 20th minute and Gordon in the 52nd minute were proof of that. "The Magpies" were always able to trouble Arsenal's defense, led by William Saliba and Gabriel, with direct balls plus Isak's unstoppable movement.

Isak had given Newcastle the lead just four minutes into the game. However, referee Simon Hooper ruled the goal out after the video assistant referee (VAR) review because Isak was offside before receiving the ball.

"Mistakes are part of football, we are usually very consistent and calm. But today we gave them hope. We let them run and we were vulnerable. They are a dangerous team if they can do that," said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.

The defeat means Arsenal have failed to score in three games against Newcastle at St James Park. After being eliminated in the semi-finals of the English League Cup, the Gunners' chances of winning a trophy this season are limited to the Premier League and the European Champions League.

On the other hand, Newcastle's success in suppressing Arsenal has made them qualify for the English League Cup final for the second time in the last three years. In the last two seasons, Newcastle failed to become champions after losing 0-2 to Manchester United. With this result, Howe is getting closer to making his team a legend.

The FA Cup was Newcastle's last domestic trophy in 1955. Newcastle's last trophy came in 1969 when they won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, now known as the Europa League. This means Newcastle have not won a trophy for 56 years.

The chance to end the long wait for the title is open in the English League Cup final at Wembley Stadium. Unlike the semifinals, the final will only take place once, not implementing a home-away system. Newcastle is now waiting for a potential opponent in the final match.

In another semifinal match, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool will battle for a place in the final, Friday (7/2/2025) early morning WIB. Whoever the opponent in the final, Newcastle must fight tooth and nail to win the title. If it happens, Howe's team will be remembered as a Newcastle City legend because they managed to end the city's long wait for a championship title.