Newcastle 2-0 Arsenal

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AH'M GAN TO GET ME SUIT MEASURED.

Not that I'll have a chance of getting a Wembley ticket, but I want to look my best in the pub.

For the third time this season, Newcastle beat an absolutely rattled Arsenal, keeping a clean sheet in the process.

All of the gathering doom and gloom was swept away by a rampant, rabid Newcastle - both team and crowd - who got into Arsenal from the first second and never gave them a sniff of getting back into the tie.

Eddie Howe had gone all prime Guardiola with a heavily tweaked 5-4-1 formation that in actuality saw Hall frequently tucking into the left side of a midfield 3, and both Dan Burn and Fabian Schar often appearing on the edge of the Arsenal box to press when out of possession.

It was such a bold tactic it almost felt revolutionary, a nod to Total Football, and for a system apparently first trialled on Monday, the players deserve endless credit for pulling it off to perfection.

In the third minute, Isak had latched onto a lofted Gordon through ball and absolutely leathered it into the top corner in a manner befitting one of the world's top strikers.

Unfortunately, one eternity later it was ruled out for a marginal offside.

Far from letting this get to them though, Sir Eddie's mags kept pressing and countering with relentless focus, harrying Arsenal into mistakes.

Alex Isak absolutely tortured the Arsenal backline, Saliba in particular, and in the 17th minute smashed a left footer of the post from 20 odd yards, with the ball falling to Murphy who had, naturally, not given up on the opportunity and was able to finish awkwardly from a tight angle.

At 3-0 on aggregate, I almost dared to believe we might do it, but the old nerves were still there.

However, there wasn't a single sign of nerves from any of the players.

Botman was a true colossus at the back and Dubravka dealt with corner after corner with ease.

Trippier, returning in place of Tino, was at his absolute shithousing best, winding up everybody in sight, visibly getting under the skin of both Havertz and the humbled Myles Lewis-Skelly.

One of his best performances for the club.

The second half started in similar fashion, Gordon latching onto a loose Arsenal ball with Raya out of position and curling wide from fully 40 yards, when really he probably should have scored.

A minute later he made amends though, Fabian Schar popping up in the centre-back-cum-false-nine role to rob Declan Rice on the edge of the Arsenal box and poking to Gordon, who spun and finished with evident glee.

The rest of the game played out with no jeopardy and further chances for Newcastle, dangerous always on the counter attack, and a few minutes at the end for the returning Krafu and Wilson, Miley also getting a few seconds to soak up the atmosphere.

The final whistle was greeting with a fist pump from an elated, vindicated Eddie Howe, who well and truly has Arteta's number.

And so of we go to Wembley, again, with the hope that this time we really can play the game, rather than the occasion, something Howe has already acknowledged.

Do we prefer Spurs or Liverpool in the final? Well surely we'd have a better chance against Spurs, though I have thought (and heard others say) I'd rather have Liverpool as I couldn't stand losing to Spurs.

But maybe it's time to throw off those old shackles of pessimism.

Maybe, just maybe, this group of players, this fantastic manager, has what it takes to bring the pot home this time.

Man of the Match: any of Isak, Tonali, Botman, Schar or Tripper.

Song of the night: "Mikel Arteta, it must be the ball!".