It was a tough evening for Arsenal’s centre-backs as the Gunners lost to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup and pundit Gary Neville has taken aim at Gabriel and William Saliba.
Mikel Arteta’s team went to St James’ Park on Wednesday looking to overturn a 2-0 deficit against Newcastle to reach the final. Sunday’s 5-1 victory over Manchester City might have given Mikel Arteta’s men hope, but they ended up falling to another two-goal defeat.
Arsenal’s centre-backs have been important both last season and this, but they didn’t have things all their own way in the north-east. Alexander Isak stole the show in the first leg, and the Swede saw a goal disallowed in the return fixture before team-mates Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon gave Newcastle victory.
Isak has had the measure of the Arsenal back-line this term, scoring the winner when the teams met in the league before the turn of the year. This didn’t go unnoticed by Neville – on commentary duties for the cup tie – who was once again impressed by the former Real Sociedad star.
Isak played a part in the opener, firing against the post and watching Murphy tuck home the rebound, and his display didn’t go unnoticed. “It’s all about Isak,” Neville said. “He is messing the Arsenal centre backs about.
“Look at him against Saliba, he (Saliba) thinks he has got in front and he pops it round the corner. What a strike it is, and a piece of good fortune because the pass isn’t into him and it then falls to Murphy. But he has Gabriel and Saliba on toast.”
Later, Neville pointed to the struggles endured by the usually-accomplished Saliba. “I have never seen Saliba so ruffled ever. Gordon and Isak are in his head,” he added.
Neville’s fellow pundit Jamie Redknapp was similarly impressed. “I have never seen Gabriel and Saliba so uncomfortable and that is because of the quality of Alexander Isak,” the former Liverpool star said. “They normally bully teams but they couldn’t handle Newcastle’s front three.”
Newcastle’s 4-0 aggregate victory was enough for them to reach the final, where either Liverpool or Tottenham will be their opponents. Eddie Howe’s side were unable to overcome Manchester United in the 2023 final, but their manager believes they are now better-equipped to end a long wait for silverware.
“We have come a long way since [the 2023 final] – the Champions League does that to you, it is so testing and unique,” Howe told BBC Radio 5 Live. “Naturally for the big games a lot of the players have been there before, and we are used to the quick turnarounds and work smarter.
“There is a good feeling about the squad. We are tight on numbers but big on energy. I would love to think we can go to Wembley and perform better than we did previously.”
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