Mikel Arteta speaks out on Alexander Isak’s devastating display against Arsenal
Alexander Isak tortured Arsenal over the course of the C Mikel Arteta confessed it was ‘clear’ the level of influence Alexander Isak had on Newcastle’s dominant Carabao Cup win over Arsenal. Protecting a two-goal lead from the first leg, Eddie Howe’s men went for the jugular at St James’ Park and put the Gunners to the sword ruthlessly. Isak, who tormented Arsenal in the reverse fixture and also scored the winner when the two teams met earlier in the season, thought he’d added to his catalogue of goals against the Gunners in the fourth minute with a devastating finish, only to see his effort ruled out by VAR for a marginal offside offence. The Sweden international’s next attempt rocketed back off the post after he had outwitted William Saliba but his frustration immediately turned to joy when Jacob Murphy turned home the rebound. Isak continued to give Saliba nightmares before the former Real Sociedad star was taken off with three minutes remaining and afforded a standing ovation. The 25-year-old has been coveted by Arsenal in the past and is seen by many as the solution to their goalscoring problems. Whether Arsenal renew their efforts to sign Isak in the summer, having kept their powder dry in the January window, remains to be seen and Arteta refused to elaborate on the Newcastle No.14’s latest eye-catching performance. ‘I’m not here to evaluate opposition players but it’s clear that he had two actions to finish and you know what happened,’ he said. William Saliba will be glad to see the back of Alexander Isak for a while (Picture: Getty) To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page With Arsenal also out of the FA Cup, Arteta has a chance to take his team to Dubai for a week of warm weather training. The decision to make the same journey last season was widely credited with triggering a run of form that took Arsenal within touching distance of the title and Arteta will hope for a repeat with his side still in contention to win the two biggest prizes available. ‘I wouldn’t like [to say that],’ said Arteta when asked if the packed schedule explained last night’s sub-par display. ‘Especially when we lose a game, physically we were tired and you know we played so many games, we played so many games every three days, and we knew that this was going to be a really high-intensity one. Newcastle will play either Liverpool or Spurs in the Carabao Cup final (Picture: Getty) ‘I think emotionally as well, it was a very different game that we needed to get there to believe right until the end that we could do it, and before that the game got away from us.’ He added: ‘We need to swallow this one, it’s a tough one and we had a lot of expectations. ‘We knew the difficulty of the task because of the result that we brought from London, but there’s nothing we can do right now. What we could do was on the pitch a few minutes ago. ‘Now we have to look forward, first of all I think this is going to be a painful one, and when we’re in Dubai, recharge and go again because we still have a lot to play for.’
Mikel Arteta confessed it was ‘clear’ the level of influence Alexander Isak had on Newcastle’s dominant Carabao Cup win over Arsenal.
Protecting a two-goal lead from the first leg, Eddie Howe’s men went for the jugular at St James’ Park and put the Gunners to the sword ruthlessly.
Isak, who tormented Arsenal in the reverse fixture and also scored the winner when the two teams met earlier in the season, thought he’d added to his catalogue of goals against the Gunners in the fourth minute with a devastating finish, only to see his effort ruled out by VAR for a marginal offside offence.
The Sweden international’s next attempt rocketed back off the post after he had outwitted William Saliba but his frustration immediately turned to joy when Jacob Murphy turned home the rebound.
Isak continued to give Saliba nightmares before the former Real Sociedad star was taken off with three minutes remaining and afforded a standing ovation.
The 25-year-old has been coveted by Arsenal in the past and is seen by many as the solution to their goalscoring problems.
Whether Arsenal renew their efforts to sign Isak in the summer, having kept their powder dry in the January window, remains to be seen and Arteta refused to elaborate on the Newcastle No.14’s latest eye-catching performance.
‘I’m not here to evaluate opposition players but it’s clear that he had two actions to finish and you know what happened,’ he said.
With Arsenal also out of the FA Cup, Arteta has a chance to take his team to Dubai for a week of warm weather training.
The decision to make the same journey last season was widely credited with triggering a run of form that took Arsenal within touching distance of the title and Arteta will hope for a repeat with his side still in contention to win the two biggest prizes available.
‘I wouldn’t like [to say that],’ said Arteta when asked if the packed schedule explained last night’s sub-par display.
‘Especially when we lose a game, physically we were tired and you know we played so many games, we played so many games every three days, and we knew that this was going to be a really high-intensity one.
‘I think emotionally as well, it was a very different game that we needed to get there to believe right until the end that we could do it, and before that the game got away from us.’
He added: ‘We need to swallow this one, it’s a tough one and we had a lot of expectations.
‘We knew the difficulty of the task because of the result that we brought from London, but there’s nothing we can do right now. What we could do was on the pitch a few minutes ago.
‘Now we have to look forward, first of all I think this is going to be a painful one, and when we’re in Dubai, recharge and go again because we still have a lot to play for.’
