Carabao Cup: Arsenal faces tough test to overcome first leg deficit at Newcastle

Arsenal face Newcastle in the Carabao Cup, aiming to overturn a 2-0 deficit. Can the Gunners' attacking form outshine Newcastle’s resilience?

Newcastle's 2-0 first leg lead will be tested by Arsenal on Wednesday, who will celebrate at full time? (Photo credit: Sporting News)

Arsenal head into the Wednesday clash at Newcastle on the back of a sensational 5-1 annihilation of champions Manchester City, but can they overcome a 2-0 first-leg deficit?

The Gunners made light work of the Cityzens at the Emirates, continuing their strong run against the traditional big six in the Premier League. However, their first-leg result in the Carabao Cup against Newcastle left them with a mountain to climb. Can they do it?

Newcastle is struggling; they suffered back-to-back defeats in the league over the last two weeks and now have it all to do against a team that is on the rise. To be honest, Newcastle just has to do the same thing they did at the Emirates: stay compact and give nothing away, and they just might have a night to remember.

While the win on Sunday got Arsenal a little closer to their biggest opponents in the title race, the Carabao Cup represents the club’s biggest opportunity to bag some silverware, and for Mikel Arteta, who has been under the spotlight for a while on title conversations, he has no choice but to deliver to the thirsty fans.

How is Newcastle feeling ahead of this encounter? Regardless of the size of Arsenal, the Magpies are the clear favourite. 2-0 is a healthy lead to take into a game against a team with Kai Havertz upfront; however, Arsenal proved they can outscore the best of teams, so Newcastle can’t take anything for granted on Wednesday.

The loss against Fulham was a sucker punch; Eddie Howe’s men dominated the game against the Lilywhites but missed gilt-edged chances before they were stung by a last-gasp Rodrigo Muniz goal. They can’t afford to be sloppy against Arsenal, especially on a day Mikel Arteta’s side is in the mood.

How will they line up? There are doubts over the fitness of Joelinton; the Brazilian is a strong midfield force alongside Bruno Guimarães, and should the former be unavailable, Sandro Tonali will fill in with former Arsenal midfielder Joe Willock also available for selection.

Arsenal will miss Bukayo Saka and the defensive duo of Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu, but the emergence of Myles Lewis-Skelly offers hope in that regard with Jurien Timber taking the other side. The midfield battle will be key; Thomas Partey and Declan Rice will be immense again.

It is the battle of Alexander Isak and the Arsenal duo of Gabriel Magalhães and William Saliba; however, the hosts must be wary of the unpredictability of Kai Havertz and the pace of Gabriel Martinelli. Anthony Gordon and Ethan Nwaneri are two other names to watch out for.