Key events
Eddie Howe, who is taking charge of Newcastle for the 150th time tonight, speaks to Sky Sports. “Joe Willock’s running capacity is his biggest strength … a brilliant athlete who will help us in and out of possession … he’s good technically as well … he’ll add a different dimension to our midfield … we can’t play the same [without Bruno Guimaraes] … a tactical tweak … only Bruno can do what Bruno can do … we have to find a different way … it’s whether the team can adjust but I think we can.”
VAR hasn’t been used in any of the previous rounds, but it’s back for the semi-finals and final, baby! Did you miss it? No, us neither. There’s a fancy new feature being rolled out tonight, too: should VAR have to intervene at any point, the on-field referee will announce and explain the decision to the crowd, over the mic, NFL-style. “We feel it will add some value,” insists PGMOL chief Howard Webb, which may or may not indicate how this caper is going to pan out, depending on your point of view / level of cynicism / recall of previous decisions, explanations, big ideas, etc.
Arsenal make five changes to their starting XI after the 1-1 draw at Brighton. Martin Ødegaard, Jurriën Timber, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz all return; Riccardo Calafiori, Jorginho, Mikel Merino and Gabriel Jesus drop to the bench, while Ethan Nwaneri is injured.
Newcastle also name a strong team, making just one change to the side that started the 2-1 win at Spurs, an enforced one at that. Joe Willock replaces the suspended captain Bruno Guimarães.
The teams
Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly, Odegaard, Partey, Rice, Martinelli, Havertz, Trossard.
Subs: Porter, Zinchenko, Tierney, Calafiori, Kiwior, Jorginho, Merino, Jesus, Sterling.
Newcastle United: Dubravka, Livramento, Botman, Burn, Hall, Willock, Tonali, Joelinton, Jacob Murphy, Isak, Gordon.
Subs: Vlachodimos, Trippier, Barnes, Targett, Osula, Almiron, Kelly, Longstaff, Miley.
Referee: Craig Pawson (South Yorkshire).
Preamble
It’s the latest staging of the Walls and Bridges derby! Whatever gets you through the night, s’alright.
A lot has happened between Newcastle and Arsenal since young Winston O’Boogie illustrated their meeting in the 1952 FA Cup final. George Eastham, Marc Overmars and Nicolas Anelka, Cheik Tioté, all that. So let’s just fast forward to last November …
… when yes, we did use this exact same riff in the preamble. But the result of that game turned out to be exactly the same as the previous season’s fixture, so there’s an element of life imitating art here. However, while those two matches paint Newcastle in a favourable light, there’s also the small matter of the resounding 4-1 win for Arsenal at the Emirates last February to consider, so both sides have something positive to cling onto going into this two-legged semi-final. It’s set up deliciously then, and both teams are in canny fettle to boot: the Gunners are 13 matches unbeaten in all competitions, while the Toon are currently riding a six-win wave. Should be a cracker! Here’s hoping. Kick-off is at 8pm GMT. It’s on!
