The first leg of the League Cup semi-final is coming soon.
Injuries are Arsenal’s main problem
This season, the Gunners are completely unlucky in terms of injuries. It is not so much their number that matters, but rather who they concern. In January, the Londoners had already suffered two major defeats. The fall had to take place without Martin Odegaard. The Norwegian midfielder has a decisive influence on the team’s play; he is the driving force and conductor of the Londoners’ attacks. So it was difficult without a midfielder.
Bukayo Saka is now out due to injury. He’s already Arsenal’s powerhouse in the final third – a pacy winger who can shoot with both feet. Arteta had an extremely dangerous weapon in his hands, but it was lost. The Englishman is expected to recover until March – and that’s seven more rounds. And it doesn’t stop there – at different times Arteta found himself without Magalhaes, Calafiori, Zinchenko, Tierney, Timber, Merino, Havertz, Jesus. All these players support. Ben White recently found himself in the infirmary.
On the way out, the “gunners” sank in mid-autumn and in the first half of December. Recently lost points with Newcastle – top of the table nuclear submarine “Liverpool” and the second “Arsenal” are six points behind (the Merseysiders also have a game in hand).
Without Saka, they score fewer goals
However, Bukayo made the difference. The winger has reached the highest level and has not fallen below a certain level. In the 22/23 season he scored 14 goals and provided 11 assists, the following season – 16 goals and nine assists. This season, Bukayo was ready for another breakthrough – five goals and 10 assists in just 16 games. So without him, the attack was significantly worse.
They only scored once against Ipswich – they were lucky that was enough to win. We already had to recover against Brentford – then Jesus, Merino and Martinelli stepped in at the right time. But against Brighton, the finishing problems returned. The Londoners only scored once again – and despite the fact that Trossard, Jesus, Rice, Merino were on the pitch, it was 17-year-old winger Ethan Nwaneri who did it. The Seagulls finally snatched a draw.
Newcastle on fire – come alive in the Championship
The first part of the season was very difficult for the Magpies. After the decisive 22/23 campaign, the team wanted to prove that the subsequent stagnation was a coincidence. In fact, Newcastle once again settled in the middle of the table and, at one point, even fell out of the top 10.
The situation changed dramatically in December. In a busy schedule before Boxing Day, the Howe gang won three in a row (including 3:1 with Brentford in the League Cup), then faced Aston Villa, Manchester United and Tottenham. At the same time, some teams from the top 5 stagnated – Man City fell out of the top five, Chelsea began to lose height. Bournemouth and Villa also made more mistakes. Thus, the “magpies” rose to the top five. Newcastle looks fresher than their opponents, plays more confidently and has conceded only once in the previous four rounds – this complements the positive impressions of the team.
Howe faces a significant challenge
At the moment, Newcastle is the main project of Howe’s career. Neither Burnley nor Bournemouth have set such ambitious goals for the manager – especially since there were no comparable resources anywhere. The coach, in his second season at the club, led the team to the Champions League.
But the last few seasons have been a difficult test. A manager’s successes are quickly forgotten when difficulties arise – and Newcastle simply disappeared last season. They still trusted the coach. Eddie’s challenge now as head coach is to show that he is still a top-level specialist, and last year’s decline is a consequence of an injury epidemic.
Teams desperate for a trophy
Newcastle and Arsenal are in a similar situation: both teams want to be higher than they are now. The Gunners are tired of being second year after year. Newcastle wanted to get into the top three two years ago, but still haven’t managed it. You have to at least get into the zone Champions League return.
At the same time, the Londoners are already far behind Liverpool and injuries make it difficult for the Merseysiders to make up for simple mistakes that give them a chance to come back. Arteta desperately needs a trophy to confirm the correctness of the chosen course. For the Magpies, the League Cup is even more important – they have no European cups and in modern history, there are no titles at all (with the exception of winning the Championship in 16/17). The outcome of the tournament will certainly affect the season record for both.
Unyielding rivals
Between 2011 and 2021, Newcastle and Arsenal have faced each other 21 times, with the Magpies winning only one match. 18 matches ended in a victory for the Londoners – and in 13 of them, they kept a clean sheet.
But since 2022, the Magpies have managed to catch up with the Gunners – now it is an extremely even confrontation. Three times the victory went to Hau’s team, twice Mikel Arteta’s team proved stronger. So it will be extremely difficult for the Gunners, especially since two years earlier Newcastle had already reached the League Cup final.
Soccer.ru forecast: Arteta is a principled coach (after all, he studied with Guardiola), for whom there are no unimportant matches. At the same time, the Magpies will be stubborn – they do not have many tournaments in which the team claims to win. The Gunners will lose and be eliminated from the League Cup, after which they will focus on nuclear submarine And Champions Leagueand Newcastle will go to the final.
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