Jamie Carragher believes Anthony Gordon’s semi-final clinching goal against Arsenal has highlighted a key issue the Gunners need to address. After benefiting from Fabian Schar’s brave and relentless pressing, Newcastle United secured their place in the final under Eddie Howe.
With a 3-0 aggregate lead, Gordon’s strike effectively sealed the tie and added the finishing touch to a performance across both legs that Howe’s side fully deserved.
Gordon controlled the ball with two quick touches after Schar dispossessed Rice just outside his own box and calmly slotted it past Raya. It mirrored a goal Arsenal themselves had scored against Manchester City just days earlier, and Newcastle celebrated their progress to Wembley in front of the home crowd at St James’ Park.
For Carragher, however, it wasn’t Rice being caught in possession that frustrated him, but the role of the goalkeeper in the situation. In a post online, he voiced his displeasure with the method, writing, “Keepers need to be banned from playing those passes into midfield players.” The former Liverpool defender has previously described a direct ball into a midfielder facing their own goal—cut off from what’s behind them—as the most dangerous and worst pass in football.
This type of pass often triggers pressing moves and intense pressure, as Newcastle demonstrated here, and many managers are willing to take the risk of playing out from the back in hopes of drawing out the opposition before exploiting the spaces they create.
Newcastle, with one of the most dynamic midfields in the league, fully capitalized on Arsenal’s tactic, even allowing Schar to step up from the backline to press Rice and limit his options. Over the two legs, it was Newcastle’s clinical finishing, as shown by Gordon, that ultimately made the difference.
‘Should be banned’ – Newcastle United draw incredible Jamie Carragher response after Arsenal win
