Arsenal and Newcastle United are set to collide in a highly anticipated Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at the Emirates Stadium this evening and Mikel Arteta has chosen his starting eleven.
Both teams arrive with impressive recent form and significant momentum in the competition.
The Gunners have been in exceptional form, remaining unbeaten in their last 13 matches across all competitions. Their home performance in the League Cup has been particularly impressive, winning both previous home fixtures this season with commanding displays. The North London side has demonstrated remarkable attacking efficiency, scoring 13 goals in their last six matches while conceding only five.
Newcastle United enters the match with an equally compelling recent record, boasting six consecutive victories across all competitions. Their away form has been particularly noteworthy, currently riding a three-match winning streak on the road. The visitors have been clinical in front of goal, scoring 18 times while conceding just two in their recent matches. Their attacking strategy has been aggressive, with most of their goals coming in the first half of matches.
Both teams have been prolific in the League Cup, uniquely managing to score in every single competition match this season. This suggests an encounter likely to be high-scoring and tactically intriguing. Arsenal has a psychological advantage, having won their previous home cup matches and maintaining excellent recent form. However, Newcastle’s recent victory against Arteta’s men in the Premier League provides them with genuine belief.
That said, at home with the crowd behind them, Arsenal have to be confident they will take a first-leg lead to St James Park.
Let us know in the comments below what you think about the team that Arteta has gone with and what your predicted score is.
Getting into the Final would be a huge boost to morale
COYG
Cant help but to notice we have 4 leftbacks on the bench.. 4! Zinc, KT, Cala and even Kiwiors played LB for us. How can one have so unbalanced squad?
Wishing all the best for the team tonight, of course
Kiwior is a CB who can cover at Lb so it’s 3 Lb of which 1 wouldn’t be here if he didn’t get injured in the summer.
No real surprises.
This is the team he should have put out against Brighton and the team he played against Brighton should have been today’s lineup. Why did Arteta not prioritise the league instead of this 2 bob cup but instead rested the lines of MO against Brighton?
He couldn’t have. Havertz was unavailable, Timber was suspended, Odegard was probably unwell.
Timber was suspended, odegaard and havertz were still ill.
But Timber was suspended and Havertz ill.
Timber suspended
Havertz unavailable
Odegaard not fit enough to start
Nwaneri now injured
so I expect this would be the XI to face Brighton if available
Odegaard did play, albeit for the last half hour. Could he not have played the first 50-55 minutes? When I look at the line up we played against Brighton, it’s a joke. We had a left back (Calafiori), 2 central defenders, 4 central midfielders(Jorg., TP, Merino, Rice), 2 number 10’s(Trossard, Nanweri) and a number 9 up front(Jesus).
Tierney, zinch, Lewis-Skelly, any of them could have played LB, Calafiori as RB and then there’s no need to tinker with TP and rice in midfield. Nanweri and Odegaard share the right 8 minutes and go with Trossard and Martinelli on the wings with Jesus up front.
If we don’t win the league this season, the season that Man city have flopped, then it will be because of Arteta’s continued failed attempts of putting the same square pegs, in the same round holes.
Just win something 4 me.
Decent looking team as we need to go for this trophy, as it is a trophy! Timber back after suspension and the others fit again after the bug that ravaged the squad during the week before the Brighton game.
Glad to see Partey in the midfield.
Newcastle’s midfield and attack are going to test us tonight.
All the best boys, I hope your up for it. Because Newcastle certainly will be.
I hope Partey stays in midfield as well. The failed right back experiment needs to be shelved for good. No one can tell me we don’t have any other player that can fill in at right back? Partey needs to stay firmly in midfield where he plays like a beast!
Just win something 4 me.
no one can say Arteta is not taking this cup seriously anymore – this is Arsenal best XI players available to him, clearly playing to win
Gotten to a point I’m no longer frustrated with Arsenal FC.
We should focus on Carabao and FA Cup in my opinion, as there is a higher chance of Nottingham Forest clinching second place in the EPL or pull off a Leicester and win the EPL if Liverpool were to catastrophically collapse at some point.
@Timoth,
Nothingham Forest won’t pull off any surprise winning Epl.
Not supporting Arsenal errors, few side in Epl will survive what Arsenal went through regarding early injuries and suspensions yet we have only lost 2 Epl games in 19 matches. And only bettered by Liverpool with one game lose.
I agree we should take cup games and UCl serious.
I
A good win here guys
Put the b****y Magpies under a second leg pressure
Surprised Calafiori is not starting as Murphy has been in very good form recently and will test LMS if he is isolated.I suspect Newcastle will defend deep and try and hit us on the break and for this reason I am glad Timber is back to look after the speedy Gordon.I would not be surprised if the match ends in a draw but I hope I’m wrong.
Shackles should be off Grandad, this is a cup game and the boring side, side, back , side passing should be left in the changing room. We should win, if we go for it.
Newcastle are in form
We are not particularly in form
If there was Bukayo, I would have been more confident but I think we’ll be the second best team here
Not very reassuring at the back so far..
Very nervous watching this game tbh
Oooh
I thought he’d scored a blinder
Really fantastic burst of speed
Livening up now
That’s why we need a top centre forward
FFS
We miss they score. Poor goal to concede but not really a surprise wen newcastle have a top forward and we really don’t.
We need to get this guy Isak..also just noticed his jersey number
Criminal defending..
Funny to see a team go at us. Our defense is not all that after Arteta spends millions on it and loves to buy defensive minded players. Exceptional attacks will always beat exceptional defenders at the end of the day. Isak is the real deal. Slotted that in like he was in his sleep. Goals in games, Mikel. Not duels won stats.
*win
He scored a fantastic goal. A minute earlier Martinelli really should have.
He’s a brilliant player. Dreaming we could somehow bring him here
we can all dream RSH
Why would he want to?
I agree Ben, he wouldn’t get any service. He’s better off staying where he is.
I do trully miss wenger’s fast passing and movement. Its hard to tell where this tinkering Arteta ball was conceived, Everton or La Masia? With this style of play no striker will help us. Nobody seems to even pass forward feels like even their thinking is in slow motion. I suspected we would be deep in this when a senior player said Arteta was teaching them to not release the ball until they are engaged by opposition player! And so now we wait until they are in their shape before we attack, no passing thro the centre, no counter attacks… just passing backwards
Tight game, difference is other team has a striker and we dont.
Well the better team is leading but it’s just a quarter way through the tie, second quarter coming up and then the second half at their place. A daunting task but not beyond us…… yet.
I do trully miss wenger’s fast passing and movement. Its hard to tell where this tinkering Arteta ball was conceived, Everton or La Masia? With this style of play no striker will help us. Nobody seems to even pass forward feels like even their thinking is in slow motion. I suspected we would be deep in this when a senior player said Arteta was teaching them to not release the ball until they are engaged by opposition player! And so now we wait until they are in their shape before we attack, no passing thro the centre, no counter attacks… just passing backwards
I mean it’s been said before ,but just imagine if we had their 14 playing up top for us .
He’d be getting marked into oblivion because our buildup play is too slow.
I should rephrase that and say “imagine if he was uptop with Howe in our dugout “
Well then we’d be 2-0 away from home!
🤣🤣
Martinelli misses, Isak scores 😕
I cant believe he still thinks we don’t need help upfront. I mean I’m not hating on harvetz but what really is He.a striker or a midfielder. And as for trossard he is always on and off
Havertz is like Danny Welbeck. They are jack of all trades but master at none.
Welbeck was better for us than Havertz has been.
And Welbeck had two major knee injury’s while at our club.
Cestor,
Havertz is Arteta’s little project, hence Arteta shoe horns him in the team, even if it’s at the cost of the team.
Tbh, I feel our attack fails more often because Partey kills any pace on the game. He’s just too slow. His passing is too slow with backwards and sideways passes. Even with Isak I don’t think we would score more. Without Saka injecting speed in attack we are relying on Martinelli alone. Appart from a five minute spell we look bang average!
We’ve had chances but the slow build up just allows Newcastle to get back into shape
I mean why do we play this slow.is it the players we have sue
Maybe too much technical ability but little pace.
I suspect that Arteta likes possession football rather more than being direct. What I am watching now, is the cra**y sideways passing and not enough movement. All Newcastle have to do is sit back and wait for an opportunity because Arsenal don’t look surprising me for the better… and there we go….FFS
Saka is out only directness
I’m really surprised. He is just this close to having an excellent team.just get two forwards.look at Liverpool. They make substitution an jota or Darwin is coming on wholes salah do as and gapko have tormented u
Thats the point
We are not close from having an excellent team
We just have fans who think if they say it it’s true
Nothing about that first half was excellent
Unable to deal with a long punt down the park and Murphy reacted quicker than Gabriel and MS to Botman flick on .Schoolboy defending I’m afraid.
I think Martinelli should have lashed at the ball, instead of trying to calmly slotting it into the net.
I feel like weeping.
Watching Martinelli play make me wanna take a pin and stick it through my eyes
Funny enough, quality apart, I thought he had one of his best games tonight.
Andrey,
Steady on, nothing is worth doing that. Not even watching this dross.
To many cowards at the club pretending to be injured rather than man up and getting on with the game. Trossard is an absolute joke limping around because he has been crap all game. Get rid of the players who are always injured and buy players who aren’t injury prone. Getting what we deserve at the moment but desperately need to change the front 3 as none of them are good enough but bench is also light, which is Arteta’s fault for his recruitment
Why do I keep staying up till 00:00 to watch this nonsense on a work night.
I am an addict that is why, and I more often than not suffer with us not doing well.
After watching Havertz close his eyes and fluff that header, I think Kai might have had a late night as well last night. How on earth did he miss that??
No alternatives in our bench, no system, when Odegard was injured it was like 10 players were injured. Saka is injured it is looking like 10 players are injured. We enjoy a very very slow play from Arsenal. Arteta PLEASE this is January Please buy a striker. Your game of scoring with the wingers is old and dead
We’re on a downward spiral. Fact!
We went 9 points behind Liverpool with Odegaard’s injury
With Saka’s injury now, that will definitely increase further
We on a downward spiral – that’s clear
There goes one of the two cups left
Newcastle have had the better of us this season and they deserve it. Our season is fading out, again.
We are not winning anything with Arteta in charge.
Hundreds of millions spent and we don’t even have a bench.
Arteta must go NOW
can’t you wait for the final whistle?
He can go after final whistle, I am happy with that.
That’s not fair! We have LB covered…
Ben,
Ben,
😂🤣😉👍👍👍👍👍
Honestly, would not be surprised if they scored 3 or 4.
Can someone tell me what happened to Odegaard?
Saka got injured. No one to pass to. No one making runs. Can’t shoot, can’t pass, can’t dribble.
He was hitting the Newcastle wall the last time I looked.🤣😂😉👍
Il say it again Mikel won’t win a thing with us… not even the mickey mouse cup. FA Cup with Emery’s team doesn’t count & Auba won that. His teams have flopped when it matters….
He has had his chance now time to go!! He has no idea what to do next, his recruitment is awful and now he cannot win with this team with any opportunity!!
Fair play Newcastle, I was worried about this game
He has created a one trick pony, and that is scoring from set pieces.
I hope I’m wrong and history doesn’t repeat itself from Wengers latter years when we’d blow the league and both cups in the space of a week. Arteta takes the same old same old approach to his game set up. Howe, sets his team up specifically for the game.
Wenger’ s later years? Arsenal fans will bite off your hands to experience the last five seasons of Wenger:
2013/2014: FA Cup Winners
2014/2015: FA Cup Winners
2016/2017: FA Cup Winners
2013/2014: League Cup Runners Up
Correction:
Wenger’ s later years? Arsenal fans will bite off your hands to experience the last five seasons of Wenger:
2013/2014: FA Cup Winners
2014/2015: FA Cup Winners
2016/2017: FA Cup Winners
2017/2018: League Cup Runners Up
Thanks, I stand corrected. I think I must have been half asleep from the constant sideways and backwards passing when I posted. There were though some years in the past where we went out of one cup after another in space of a week or so if I recall.
I need to revise my position because we are getting spanked!
Our players look clueless on attack and worse in defense.
After spending Elon Musk spaceship budget on the defense yet we look worst off. They can’t even effectively press to win back the ball. It’s like each time we lose the ball, we are on the verge of conceiving a goal
That’s our quality striker right there..
That’s haverts in a nutshell. Can’t put away even simple header
And that is why he is paid the big bucks… No wait it is to actually put the ball in the net
Not over yet peeps
Need the next goal
Where’s that coming from? We can barely create a half chance without Saka and Nwaneri.
We have had several chances, all of which have been fluffed.
But we don’t need a striker Sue.
Are you suggesting that I don’t think we do? If ever a match showed that it was tonight
No Sue, I am pointing out all of those who have still been saying, we don’t need a striker. Not many, tgey are dwindling but there were a few.
If we don’t need a striker then WHAT DO WE NEED?????
Fellow Gunner
We need a striker to score goals. Our last season system is not working for the team
I think you misunderstood my post
I think you both misunderstood mine. Obviously president is new and doesn’t know me.
We need a new manager with new idea’s, that’s what we need President.
Currently 0-2 down after 60 mins. More slow, dithering football from Arsenal while simultaneously getting taken apart at the back. And this with our strongest available team on the pitch. Guess it’s top 4 and like it for another year, boys! Nice to be in the race though, right…
One of the misses of the season. If you did that over the park with your mates they would laugh at you for ever
You’ll have to narrow it down, Perry lol
Is there anyone slower than rice on the field?
I like the guy but man does he make running look difficult.
Trossard! He’s the perfect metaphor for this Arsenal team: slow and style over substance.
But as blind as you are yoi missed him creating our two best chances that was missed. And another sitter that was missed against Brighton. So you think Odergaard or Haverz have been better. Martinellis quality?
I didn’t say Trossard is without his merit, I just didn’t think he’s very good and the type of player any team with aspirations of winning the league should be buying. And no, Havertz and Odegaard have been awful and right now Jacob Murphy is better than Martinelli. No one would’ve thought that possible a few years ago.
I find it strange just one player should be singled out. Plus I don’t blame the players, I blame the way they play. The manager has to take all the blame playing the way we do.
That’s because at the moment Murphy is well coached, something our players lack.
Even our set pieces are failing..
And it is getting worse. Can’t even keep it in from a corner.
With Isaak off we should hopefully not be humiliated any further
We’ve had the chances just can’t put it in the net. That’s why we need a goalscorer.
Club needs to really consider who this sporting director is going to be. Being chummy with Mikel I don’t think is the right route. Someone needs to hammer into Mikel that we need ATTACKERS. And not the ones who look good on a stat sheet but ones that can actually score. I haven’t fully given up on Mikel but I am very worried this is going to get ugly unless the right changes get made and Mikel looks at the type of football he has us playing. It was never a successful strategy to turn us into thugs who play for set pieces and try to time waste. Give us the free flowing football we know this team can produce and HAS in the past
Our pressing has been poor lately, when Newcastle pressed tonight it looked organized.
@Sws
Do we press?
Yay Zinchecko. Finally we have an attacker that can score goals
Ibrahim,
I like your sarcasm, you are being sarcastic right?🤣👍
Fans disgrace leaving early
Make an atmosphere and try to at least help get a goal back
Why a disgrace, who would want to stay and watch that load of garbage. One of the worst performance of the season, embarrassing for a cup semi final and can’t believe how low we have become with that idiot in charge. And please let’s not try and defend this and say Arteta is doing s great job as I for one would dance in the street if he was sacked tonight
5 minutes to earn some respectability but I’m not banking on it.
Without Saka that team is average
I nearly fell asleep there watching the pass, pass, pass. Passing we are doing in front of their goal. Have a blooming shot already. You don’t shoot you can’t score.
I’m nervous now that Amorin will set up Man Utd so they beat us as well, especially as he’s probably watched how Howe did it.
If that isn’t a hard cold look at ourselves then nothing is.
Well, that was typical to a degree. You just know that can happen to Arsenal at home. Not many players would get over 5 from me. Very average and dissapointing and not surprising. For the first time I am starting to question MA and his future at the club. He’s obviously not willing to change. We’re predictable and never offer anything new. Like I said, typical Arsenal.
Truth is Artera lacks think, Jesus is the better option to start with. Havertz lacks composure and work rate. As far Ode , he is a passenger of late. If you want to think differently bring in Jorginho in the Ode role as you creative midfielder with Jesus , Martinelli and possibly Trossard working of him. Ode doesn’t influence game when there is pressure, he disappears
Martinelli & Rice were our best players in the second half
Odegaard – nothing good came out of him
He’s not interested or not up for it at the moment, but that’s the problem when there’s absolutely no one else in the team that can do what he does
Arteta must go
Can we now criticize Arteta?
This is a week into January, and we still have no signings.
Havertz makes 160k a week more than Isak. Let that sink in.
Only Arteta can spend 750 million and make a team worse.
Wenger won 3 FA’s in the last 5 years and got sacked.
We play Manchester United, and I think he may be out as well. We go and play Tottneham next in the league.
Newcastle has beat us for 2 years straight.
Arteta is a good manager, but he is using us to learn on the job for wherever he is going to next.
Lastly, Arteta is among the top 3 highest-paid coaches in the world after winning an FA Cup with Emery’s squad.