Newcastle is back in the English League Cup final for another chance to end its 70 year wait for a major domestic trophy.
The Saudi-controlled northeast club beat Arsenal 2-0 in the second leg of their semi-final on Thursday (AEDT) to advance 4-0 on aggregate.
Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon scored the goals at a boisterous St. James' Park.
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Newcastle United fan celebrates at St James' Park. Getty
Newcastle will play either Tottenham or Liverpool in the March 17 (AEDT) final at Wembley Stadium.
Tottenham leads 1-0 after the first leg — the second leg is on Friday (AEDT) at Anfield.
For Newcastle, it marks another opportunity to capture a first piece of silverware since being bought by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund in 2021.
Newcastle's last trophy was the now-defunct Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1969 and the most recent domestic title was the FA Cup in 1955.
Newcastle reached the 2023 League Cup final, but lost 2-0 to Manchester United.
Arsenal arrived buoyed by a 5-1 thrashing of Manchester City in the Premier League on Monday (AEDT) and looking to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg against Newcastle at Emirates Stadium last month.
Mikel Arteta at St James' Park. Getty
Mikel Arteta's team failed to handle the lively atmosphere inside St. James', with its usually solid defence looking fragile and almost conceding after just four minutes when Alexander Isak was played through on goal and finished into the top corner.
It was disallowed for offside following a video review and the decision was announced to fans inside the stadium by the referee via a wireless microphone – a practice being trialled in the English League Cup ahead of use in the Premier League.
After Martin Odegaard hit the post for Arsenal, Newcastle took the lead in the 19th minute when Isak struck a shot against the post and Murphy converted the rebound.
Arsenal's remote chances of a comeback were further hit when Gabriel Martinelli went off with a muscle injury before halftime, and Gordon virtually secured Newcastle's place in the title match by scoring the second after Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice was dispossessed outside his area by a sliding Fabian Schar.
The ball flew straight to Gordon, who swivelled and shot into the bottom corner past stranded goalkeeper David Raya.
Arsenal, a two-time League Cup winner, was looking to reach the final for the first time since 2018, when it lost 3-0 to Man City.
Newcastle fans taunted Arsenal's manager in the last few minutes, singing: "Mikel Arteta, it must be the ball."
It was a reference to Arteta saying after the first leg that the ball used in the League Cup was "very different to a Premier League ball" after his team missed several chances.
