Arsenal face a two goal deficit as they prepare to take on Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday. It’s a real crossroads moment for their season. The winter transfer window has come to a close without the Gunners adding a striker or any significant pieces and despite dispatching Manchester City in league play, the Gunners failed to gain ground in the Premier League where they now trail Liverpool by six points and it could become nine when the Reds play their game in hand.
Already out of the FA Cup after a shock loss to Manchester United, this is a time where the stakes are getting higher for Mikel Arteta’s men to make this season a success. While winning the Champions League will be Arsenal’s top priority, they can’t ignore the importance of the EFL Cup as the reality of a season with no significant honors is staring them in the face if they can’t get past the Magpies.
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Newcastle don’t need reminding of how important this moment is, considering that this is their first chance at a major honor since winning the FA Cup in 1955. Droughts like that show that no time of success can be taken for granted but it has also now been close to five years since Arsenal’s last major honor, winning the FA Cup in 2020. The team has improved significantly since then but they have nothing to show for it after close finishes in league play.
Teams of Arsenal’s stature usually don’t take EFL Cup play seriously until the later rounds, but having made it to the semifinals, there’s no choice but to put everything they can into overcoming this deficit in the second leg. Getting knocked out by Newcastle would be another disappointment in a season full of them. It’s also not like Arsenal have enough bodies to rotate without Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus in the attack, but Arteta will need to figure something out.
The season has already brought along the emergence of Myles Lewis-Skelly, so there’s no telling who the next academy starlet will be. Also, booking their place at Wembley can be an important morale booster heading back into Champions League play and looking to push Liverpool to the end in the Premier League. It may be assumed that the Reds will win the league, but nothing can be taken for granted in English soccer.
If Arsenal don’t win and follow that up by faltering in the Champions League, when they resume play in the round of 16, change could be on the horizon during the offseason and the easiest trophy to win is always the one that takes the fewest victories to reach. That’s the EFL Cup for the Gunners but they’ll still need to improve rapidly to reach the final.
How to watch and odds
- Date: Wednesday, Feb. 5 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: St. James’ Park — Newcastle upon Tyne, England
- Live stream: Paramount+
- Odds: Newcastle United +220; Draw +250; Arsenal +115
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