Newcastle United have taken a huge step towards the Carabao Cup final as they sealed a 2-0 victory over Arsenal in the first-leg of the semifinal on Tuesday.
The Magpies entered the important game full of confidence, having won their past six matches across all competitions.
Alexander Isak was at his best again, as he opened the scoring for Newcastle with a composed finish in the 37th minute.
The Sweden international also had a big role in their second goal as his shot was parried by David Raya, allowing Anthony Gordon to sweep home the rebound.
Arsenal also had their chances, but their wastefulness in front of goal meant Newcastle were able to take a healthy advantage back to St James’ Park for the second-leg.
£25m ace fails to shine vs Arsenal
There were many encouraging performances from Newcastle in Tuesday’s match, including Isak, Gordon and Sandro Tonali.
But Joe Willock, who joined the club on a permanent deal for £25 million in 2021, failed to shine for his side.
With captain Bruno Guimaraes suspended for the game, the 25-year-old had a big opportunity to prove a point to manager Eddie Howe.
But the midfielder failed to make much of an impression. He had just 21 touches in the match, which is fewer than \Martin Dubravka’s 41.
Willock was on the pitch for 65 minutes and in that time, he lost the ball on eight occasions.
Not only that, the English footballer lost all his four ground duels and he was dribbled past twice.
On the back of this performance, Willock shouldn’t keep his starting spot when Newcastle welcome Arsenal in their second-leg of the semifinal at St James’ Park.
Read more: Anthony Gordon raves about Newcastle striker Alexander Isak after excellent display against Arsenal
Stats from Sofascore
