Eddie Howe has opened up on how Newcastle defeated Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final.
The Magpies had a 2-0 lead over the Gunners heading into Wednesday’s second leg at St James’ Park and cruised to victory, winning by the same scoreline thanks to goals from Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon.
Howe’s side – who are in the Carabao Cup final for the second time in three years – will now play either Tottenham or Liverpool in the showpiece event on Sunday, March 16.
And, following the game, the 47-year-old reflected on the victory and revealed that Newcastle only had two days to work on the new system that they utilised for the clash.
‘We had three training sessions,’ Howe, who deployed a back five against the Gunners, said to Sky Sports.
‘We trained this morning. Those three sessions allowed us to repeat and the players have to execute.
Eddie Howe has opened up on how Newcastle defeated Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final
The Gunners were beaten 2-0 in the second leg at St James’ Park to lose 4-0 on aggregate
Newcastle were brilliant on the night after Howe chose to deploy a back five for the clash
‘The work [on the game plan] started on Monday, which is quick. The Champions League last year helped us to work on those two-day turnarounds.
‘We do tweak things depending on the opposition. We felt we needed more height in the team, we wanted solidity at the back and we had to change in order to win the game.
‘The players followed the instruction to the letter, they deserve the credit. Fabian [Schar] had big distances to cover in his job, tracking Declan Rice whether he dropped low or went wide or went central.
‘At times he went right across the pitch. He is a good athlete and is very capable of doing it.’
Newcastle cruised through the second half of the clash, with Arsenal never looking like clawing back the deficit on what was a tough night for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Several players put in below-par performances, including the usually reliable centre back pairing of William Saliba and Gabriel, who struggled to deal with Alexander Isak.
And Howe revealed that Newcastle’s game plan included a particular strategy for the defenders.
And Howe revealed that he had a particular plan to target both Gabriel and Saliba (right)
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‘It was a great night for us,’ he added. ‘It was a tough game but tactically we were good. The intention was to be aggressive and sometimes when you do that it doesn’t always work. Today it did.
‘I thought it helped to solidify our plan. We had to retreat at times but we were always in the game.
‘We wanted to get pressure on them [William Saliba and Gabriel] and in order to do that we had to get bodies in the right areas and press high – that is how we decided to do it.
‘You know you are playing against elite players and one mistake can make things difficult. We had to be ourselves, be front foot. If not then it can quickly be 1-0 and 2-0 and then you are on the back foot.’
