Arsenal v Newcastle United: Carabao Cup semi-final, first leg – live
- Carabao Cup semi-final first leg news, 8pm GMT kick-off
- Rosicky leads contenders for Arsenal role | Email Scott
Eddie Howe, who is taking charge of Newcastle for the 150th time tonight, speaks to Sky Sports. “Joe Willock’s running capacity is his biggest strength … a brilliant athlete who will help us in and out of possession … he’s good technically as well … he’ll add a different dimension to our midfield … we can’t play the same [without Bruno Guimaraes] … a tactical tweak … only Bruno can do what Bruno can do … we have to find a different way … it’s whether the team can adjust but I think we can.”
VAR hasn’t been used in any of the previous rounds, but it’s back for the semi-finals and final, baby! Did you miss it? No, us neither. There’s a fancy new feature being rolled out tonight, too: should VAR have to intervene at any point, the on-field referee will announce and explain the decision to the crowd, over the mic, NFL-style. “We feel it will add some value,” insists PGMOL chief Howard Webb, which may or may not indicate how this caper is going to pan out, depending on your point of view / level of cynicism / recall of previous decisions, explanations, big ideas, etc.