Mikel Arteta has expressed disappointment after thousands of supporters left early during Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-finals.
Premier League heavyweights Arsenal suffered a disappointing defeat to Newcastle United in their EFL Cup semi-final meeting at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, 7th January.
Alexander Isak, who has long been on Arsenal’s radar, opened the scoring for the visitors in the 38th minute. After Jacob Murphy superbly controlled Dan Burn’s flick-on, the ball fell into Isak’s path, allowing him to dispatch a thumping finish. In the 51st minute, Anthony Gordon doubled the Magpies’ advantage, sending Isak’s rebound — a low strike saved by David Raya — into the back of the net from close range.
Mikel Arteta Disappointed to See Arsenal Fans Leave Before Final Whistle Against Newcastle United
Disappointed with their team’s performance, thousands of Arsenal supporters started vacating their seats long before the final whistle. At the post-match press conference, Arteta said although it was the fans’ choice, he would have appreciated it if they had been in Arsenal’s corner until the end. He claimed the team could have used their support in closing minutes.
Newcastle have traveled to Man United, Spurs, and Arsenal in their last three games—and beaten them all 🤯 pic.twitter.com/1g26YfD01b
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) January 7, 2025
Addressing the mass walk-out, the Spanish tactician said (via Irish Independent):
“That’s their decision. We try our best and it’s their decision to stay right behind the team or leave.
“I think I repeated a thousand times how important they are and how critical it is to maintain the level of energy and belief in the stadium to generate big moments at the end that we could have had and because we were very close to score (and make it) 2-1 and we would have needed that, but that wasn’t the case and that’s not good.”
Arsenal, who are second in the Premier League rankings, will have to produce a much better performance in the EFL Cup semi-final second leg to secure a place in the final. They will travel to St. James’ Park for the clash on 5th February.
The North London club will return to action with an FA Cup Third Round clash against Manchester United on Sunday, 12th January.
