After defeating Brentford, I stated that there was a small drawback in learning that neither of the improbable upsets had happened, which would have greatly facilitated the path to winning the Carabao Cup. As we attempted to weigh the pros and disadvantages of the Spurs vs. Manchester United game the next night, we were all aware that Liverpool and Arsenal were waiting.
Since we’ve had enough late-stage setbacks against Salford Reds in cup competitions, I believe everyone agreed that Tottenham was the better choice, and that one at least worked out well.
So, Thursday night’s Carabao Cup semi-final draw finally arrived after the excruciating wait of the protracted post-match analysis.
To begin with, you want the second leg at home. Any argument about this is blatantly foolish; it has a huge advantage. Knowing full well that the tie will be decided on your home field, you can play a close game in the away leg. The away goals rule was implemented to prevent teams from just locking the door, but since it was recently repealed, the strategy should unquestionably be to nullify the opposition and force them to return to their own location. This was arranged, and for a tie that is still up for grabs, we should have a fantastic scene under the lights in early February.
And now for the opponent’s identify.
Arsenal is of course never what you want.
The Champions League is another little issue. The Gunners are one point above automatic knockout qualification and five points behind the leaders of that enormous table, who are also Liverpool. Arsenal’s progress will be decided by their matches against Girona and Dinamo Zagreb in the two midweeks leading up to the second leg. In case you missed it, Newcastle will be leaning forward. In the time between the two legs, they also have Man City, Villa, and the minor issue of a North London derby. No space at all for rest.
Everyone in these trophy-starved areas should keep in mind that Arsenal and its largely international fan base don’t care much about the English cups.
While Arteta’s FA Cup victory a few years ago appears to have little bearing on their string of failures in these two tournaments, they are consumed by the golden goose of Premier League victory and the ever-present pull of Champions League glory. They will decide to rest players for our semi-final in this month of terrible games, therefore Newcastle must show up and perform to the best of their abilities.
Liverpool would undoubtedly act similarly, so perhaps acquiring them would have been preferable for us? Not at all.
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