They would be even stronger position if Arsenal had not turned their form around since their defeats in both domestic cups last month, beginning in the first leg of this EFL Cup semifinal before they were then knocked out of the FA Cup on penalties by Manchester United.

Newcastle comfortably downed Arsenal to reach the EFL Cup final thanks to a sensational performance from Eddie Howe's side. 2-0 up heading into the evening, the tie was almost over inside four minutes when Alexander Isak rifled the ball past David Raya, only for VAR to hand Arsenal a massive let-off by adjudging the Swede fractionally offside.

Ghana midfielder, Thomas Partey featured for Arsenal on Wednesday night but the team’s plan to overturn a first-leg EFL Cup semi-final setback to set the tone for a party could not be achieved.