Arsenal predicted lineup vs Newcastle - Carabao Cup | OneFootball

Arsenal have a mountain to climb at St. James' Park on Wednesday, but they head into the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final brimming with confidence.

Sunday's 5-1 thrashing of reigning Premier League champions Manchester City has to be regarded as one of the peaks of Mikel Arteta's tenure thus far. The victory means Arsenal remain in the title conversation after Liverpool won at Bournemouth, and they're now aiming to pull off an unlikely comeback and pencil in a date at Wembley next month.

Defeats to Bournemouth and Fulham on Tyneside in the wake of their efficient first leg victory has manifested Newcastle's fallibility, and a buoyant Gunners are well placed to take advantage of a Magpies outfit that's shown signs of fatigue.

Here's how Arteta could line Arsenal up at Newcastle on Wednesday.

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GK: David Raya - No clean sheet for Raya at the weekend, but Arsenal's number one nonetheless played a role in Arsenal's emphatic triumph. He'll have to keep the Magpies at bay on Wednesday for the Gunners to advance.

RB: Jurrien Timber - Ben White is available for Arsenal again, but it would be a risk to dislodge Timber for such an important game given the former's lack of match practice.

CB: William Saliba - The French defender didn't have the best of nights up against Alexander Isak in the first leg, so he'll be keen to dominate the Swede on Tyneside.

CB: Gabriel - Gabriel relishes these occasions, but Isak also had joy against the Brazilian at the start of the year. He must be assertive when the Newcastle striker drops between the lines.

LB: Myles Lewis-Skelly - The man of the hour deserves to retain his place in the team despite Riccardo Calafiori's presence. Lewis-Skelly is quickly blossoming into a sh*thouse to complement his distinct talent.

DM: Thomas Partey - Arteta has long placed his faith in the Ghanaian, and the midfielder has enjoyed a fine season at the base of Arsenal's midfield. Partey's playing for a new contract.

CM: Declan Rice - The in-form £105m man was excellent again at the weekend, and he has a huge role to play on Wednesday against a physical but technically proficient Newcastle midfield.

CM: Martin Odegaard - Odegaard was finally on a Premier League scoresheet at the weekend as he opened the scoring against the Cityzens inside a couple of minutes. The skipper was brilliant on Tyneside two seasons ago in a 2-0 win, and Arsenal require similar levels of inspiration on Wednesday.

RW: Ethan Nwaneri - This isn't going to be a game of transitions for Arsenal. Newcastle will sit deep and ask their visitors to pick locks all night. Nwaneri makes sense for Gunners over Gabriel Martinelli down the right.

ST: Kai Havertz - Havertz's persistence paid off on Sunday as he netted Arsenal's fourth in their 5-1 rout. Arteta will be leaning on the German heavily for the rest of 2024/25.

LW: Leandro Trossard - Trossard's uptick in form has proven timely, and he has to be ahead of Martinelli in the current pecking order if Arteta opts to bring Nwaneri in on the opposite flank.