February 4th 2025.
As Arsenal gears up for their highly anticipated second-leg match against Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup semi-final, one player in particular is hoping to secure a starting role on Wednesday night. The Gunners suffered a 2-0 defeat in the first leg at the Emirates, but their recent form has been much more promising.
After a rough start to the new year with losses against Bournemouth and Fulham, Arsenal bounced back with a strong performance over the holiday season. However, they faced some setbacks with draws against Brighton and Aston Villa and a disappointing exit from the FA Cup just five days after their first leg defeat.
But their spirits were lifted with a spectacular win over Manchester City last Sunday, and the team is feeling confident once again. Though they are still missing Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus due to injuries, their overall squad is looking pretty healthy. Mikel Merino and Martin Odegaard, who were absent from the win against Wolves, have since returned and David Raya has recovered from his injury as well.
Meanwhile, Ben White has been out of commission since undergoing minor surgery in November, but he has recently returned to training and Mikel Arteta is hopeful that he will be able to make a comeback before the end of the month. Despite some late interest in Mathys Tel and Alvaro Morata on transfer deadline day, Arsenal did not make any new additions to their team.
As for their upcoming match against Newcastle, it is likely that Arteta will give young talent Ethan Nwaneri another chance to shine. After scoring in his last two appearances, the teenager has been a key player in the competition and has only missed one game due to injury - the first leg against Newcastle.
On the other hand, Newcastle may have to face Arsenal without midfielder Joelinton, who was forced to leave their game against Fulham on Saturday and was later seen wearing a knee brace as a precaution. With that in mind, here are the predicted lineups for both teams:
Arsenal:
Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly, Odegaard, Partey, Rice, Martinelli, Havertz, Nwaneri
Newcastle:
Dubravka, Livramento, Schar, Burn, Hall, Guimaraes, Tonali, Miley, Murphy, Isak, Gordon
For those wondering where to catch the game, it will be broadcasted on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event with a live stream available on the Sky Go app and NOW TV. The match is set to kick off at 8pm on Wednesday 5 February.
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