Eddie Howe Vows Newcastle Will Learn From Wembley Pain In League Cup Final

Eddie Howe hailed Newcastle's "huge" League Cup semi-final win against Arsenal as the Magpies boss vowed his side would learn from the pain of their last visit to Wembley. Chasing a first major trophy since 1969, Newcastle swept to a 2-0 victory over Arsenal on a memorable night at a raucous St James' Park on Wednesday. Jacob Murphy's first half opener and Anthony Gordon's strike after the interval sealed a 4-0 aggregate success that sent Howe's team to their second League Cup final in the last three seasons.

Newcastle were beaten by Manchester United at Wembley in 2023, but Howe is confident the lessons from that heartbreaking loss will provide valuable experience and motivation in the final against Liverpool or Tottenham on March 16.

"It is huge. The first appearance there was a bit unexpected, but we want to be there regularly, so it's not a surprise this time," he said.

"We are there on merit. Our run has not been easy this year, so we've done the hard yards.

"Hopefully we can learn from the last experience. We have come a long way since then. I would love to think we can go to Wembley and perform better."

The Magpies are bidding for their first major trophy since the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 56 years ago, with their last domestic silverware coming in the 1955 FA Cup.

Despite the high stakes, Newcastle finished the job in nerveless fashion after winning 2-0 at Arsenal in the first leg in January.

Organised superbly by the astute Howe, they out-played Mikel Arteta's side thanks to superb performances from Sweden striker Alexander Isak and England winger Gordon.

Howe acknowledged he had tweaked his defensive system, switching to a back five to nullify Arsenal's set-piece threat.

Arteta had no answers to Howe's tactical