Newcastle 2-0 Arsenal: Gunners have no excuses
- Published
Newcastle's jubilant, Wembley-bound fans waited until victory was assured before taunting Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta for comments made in the aftermath of the first leg.
Arteta complained that Arsenal had difficulties with the ball being used in the competition, although Newcastle's players did not appear to have any similar problems.
And it came back to bite him as chants of "Mikel Arteta, it must be the ball", as the Gunners subsided tamely to defeat.
Arsenal and Arteta can have no complaints here, as they have been comprehensively outplayed by Newcastle over the two legs.
The big chance came and went when Martin Odegaard hit the post, because once Jacob Murphy stretched the aggregate lead to 3-0, there was no coming back.
Arsenal were unable to reach the levels that saw them demolish Manchester City on Sunday. There was no lack of effort, but inspiration was in short supply and once Newcastle got their second on the night the task was insurmountable.
An injury to winger Gabriel Martinelli did not help, but in reality Arsenal's attempt to rescue the situation in which they found themselves after the first leg fizzled out swiftly.
The Gunners performed in average fashion over both games, ended well beaten, and must now turn their attentions back to attempting to haul in Premier League leaders Liverpool and the Champions League.