Gloating Alan Shearer sent a nine-word message to a Newcastle star after Arsenal were dumped out of the Carabao Cup.
Following a 2-0 first leg defeat at the Emirates Stadium, hopes of a dramatic comeback on Tyneside were wrecked by goals from Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon. It has left the Gunners to focus on trying to reel in Liverpool in the Premier League and attempting to win the Champions League for the first time.
Magpies legend Shearer was naturally giddy at his club reaching Wembley for the second time in three years and couldn’t resist sending a private message to impressive centre-back Dan Burn. Speaking on the Rest is Football podcast with Gary Lineker and Micah Richards, Shearer began: “Big Dan Burn!”
He added: “I text him today and said, ‘God, you have been amazing the last few weeks’.”
Shearer also hailed Eddie Howe for getting the better of Mikel Arteta across both legs. The former England striker added: “There were so many impressive performances from the players and particularly from the manager.
“I thought he got his tactics absolutelty spot on. Arsenal couldn’t live with the intensity and the agression and the energy that Newcastle had.
“Newcastle didn’t give them a second. Newcastle were set up counter-attack Arsenal, but they defended so well. They pressed so well and were organised.”
(Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
On the Gunners, the former Manchester City defender added: “Arsenal did OK up until the final third but didn’t have the quality to break them down. I didn’t think Arsenal were bad, I just thought Newcastle were better.”
Arteta and his players, who have a free weekend after their FA Cup third round exit at the hands of Manchester United, have headed to Dubai for a training camp before returning to resume their Premier League and Champions League campaigns.
“We need to swallow this one. It’s a tough one as we had a lot of expectations,” said the Gunners boss after the Newcastle defeat.
“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.
“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.”
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