Eddie Howe says Newcastle has to be “on the hat” against Arsenal while trying to secure a place in the EFL Cup tomorrow evening.
The magpies, which have no longer claimed domestic trophy since 1955, won the first leg of their semi-finals against the Gunners 2-0 with the Emirates after they had exposed a great pressure in a smash-and-grave victory.
But Howe is cautious because he is carried against a team that showed her Premier League master Manchester City in her 5-1 demolition, in Manchester City on Sunday.
Eddie Howe on the second leg of tomorrow against Arsenal:
“My message is, we are halfway in the tie. The game is still very lively against every opposition. We have to approach the game in a really positive and aggressive way, try to be ourselves. It won’t be … pic.twitter.com/7JMD4LWOOQ
– Newcastle United (@Nufc) 4th February 2025
He said: “I think my message is that we are halfway, the away game was a good performance by us, but against every opposition the game is still alive. You then add the quality of the arsenal to be (and) that we have to be on our guard.
“We have to try to be positive and aggressive, there will be no deviation from it. We have to involve the crowd and try to take every opportunity. “
Difficult windows for Howe
Newcastle could not be expanded to his squad in the January window because they still have to struggle with the PSR requirements, although they achieved a few revenues urgently needed by selling Lloyd Kelly to Juventus and Miguel Almiron to Atlanta United.
“Right from the start, I said that it was not a look at the income, but to try to cope with expenses and not to weaken the squad too much that it would be affected,” added Howe.
“We did PSR and the two sales achieve this. The squad is lighter, but full of quality. We can still achieve success. “
Howe hesitates to leave Kelly left
The sale of Kelly was a special blow for Howe, but made financially sense that the Saudi Arabian Club had brought it to a free transfer last summer.
“I don’t think it was my decision to let him go, very reserved from our side,” said Howe.
“Lloyd is a player we have just signed, we believe in his qualities. He no longer played a bit frustrating, but that was perhaps on the shape of others. We had to try to manage PSR and make decisions that benefit us. This is one of them. An exciting opportunity for him. “
