Arsenal were well beaten in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night as they lost 2-0 to Newcastle United at St James’ Park and 4-0 on aggregate.
The Gunners turned in possibly one of their worst performances of the season, in a cauldron of noise at St James’ Park. Goals from Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon secured the Magpies’ safe passage to the final at Wembley Stadium in March.
For Arsenal it means their focus now remains on the Premier League and the Champions League, with work to do in both competitions. They are chasing Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table, while the Gunners made it through to the last 16 of the Champions League without needing a play-off.
Mikel Arteta’s side could be given something of a helping hand in the race to win the Premier League with what happens in the second Carabao Cup semi-final on Thursday night.
League leaders Liverpool are in action, hosting Arsenal’s fierce north London rivals Tottenham in their second leg match-up. Spurs lead 1-0 from the first leg, so have a narrow advantage.
As if Arsenal needed another reason not to want Tottenham to win, however, they have one in the form of a potential Premier League title boost. Should Liverpool overturn the first leg deficit and beat Spurs to reach the Carabao Cup final, the Reds will have an extra game on their agenda.
The Carabao Cup final is not part of the schedule in its own right, with Premier League fixtures set for that weekend. The teams taking part will have their matches rearranged. So if Liverpool do make it to the final, not only will they have an extra game to play more than Arsenal, it will mean a league fixture rescheduled for midweek.
Those are never easy to negotiate, particularly as the games come thick and fast at the end of the season and it could prove beneficial for Arsenal, with fewer matches on their agenda.