The Magpies dismissed us rather handily over the two semifinal legs, 2-0 each. I don't know why we're such easy pickings for the Toon. They're physical, but so are we. Anyway, we're out of both the domestic cups, having bottled it against Man U last month in the FA cup.
I noticed that Stoke was beaten in FA Cup action after PKs by Cardiff. Former Gunners Calum Chambers and Chris Willock both scored penalties in the shootout. I once thought Chambers would be a starting central defender for us for a long time, with Rob Holding, but neither proved to be what was needed. Chris Willock didn't play on our senior team, but was in our youth setup with his brother Joe, now a Geordie. (How many nicknames does Newcastle need?)
Martinelli twanged a hamstring at St James's Park and will be out for a month. We're pretty much out of forwards. Can Arteta make some tactical moves to adapt? He seems wedded to his 4-3-3 formation, but it has to have some flexibility.
Arsenal lost to them both times in the cup 2-0, and the last three times the teams played each other. The loss in January ended a long streak of Arsenal matches without a loss. I expected Arsenal to win both matches. I don't have any idea why Arsenal comes out with lackluster performances against Newcastle. You won't face them again until May. Maybe Arsenal will do better then, at the end of the season, if it is crunch time.
ReplyDeleteAaron Ramsey was also in that Cardiff team that sent Stoke out of the FA Cup! Of course, Ramsey lost a couple years from his career due to a double leg break dealt by Stoke's Ryan Shawcross 15 years ago. Stoke was relegated a few years later and have never returned to the top flight. Ramsey was booed with every touch yesterday, but after the game he walked around Stoke's ground and wound up the fans by waving his arms. Glorious.
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