Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes admitted it is his “dream” to lift Newcastle’s first major trophy in 75 years after helping them reach the Carabao Cup final.
The Magpies beat Arsenal 2-0 at St James’ Park on Wednesday night to earn a 4-0 aggregate win in the semi-finals and book their place at Wembley.
It will be Newcastle’s second final appearance in the competition in three years and after falling short against Manchester United in 2023, Guimaraes is desperate to go on better this time.
The Brazilian, who was named skipper at the start of the season, told Sky Sports: “Unbelievable performance from everyone and we must thank the fans as well. Here we go, another final for the club and hopeful we can win this one.
“I felt anxious before the game, big game, Arsenal a top, top team but when we play like that we become an amazing team.
“Play like that and we can dream big. It would be amazing to get a trophy, it is my dream to do this.
“Isak is the best striker these days for me. For me, the manager is amazing. He deserves the credit.”
“Since when I joined the club, my goal was to put my name in the club’s history” ✨
Bruno Guimarães says it would be a dream to lift a trophy with Newcastle 🏆 pic.twitter.com/VxBwpc9HxQ
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) February 5, 2025
Howe: We are wiser than two years ago
Manager Eddie Howe says Newcastle are more deserving of their final place than they were two years ago and feels they are in a stronger position as a club to go one better.
The Toon boss said: “It is huge [to get back to Wembley]. The first appearance there was a bit unexpected, but the club we want to be we have to be there regularly, so it’s not a surprise.
“We are there on merit, our run has not been easy this year, we’ve faced four Premier League teams, so we have done the hard yards.
“Hopefully we can learn from the last experience and improve our performance.”
YOUR CARABAO CUP FINALISTS 😍 pic.twitter.com/RCAch4wtXH
— Newcastle United (@NUFC) February 5, 2025
Howe’s tactics outsmart Gunners
While enjoying less of the ball, Newcastle were in control throughout the game at St James’ Park after manager Howe opted to switch to a back five, rather than his usual back four.
It worked a treat, with Newcastle’s second goal coming from defender Fabian Schar’s intense pressing on the edge of Arsenal’s box, allowing Anthony Gordon to slot home.
Howe added: “It was a great night for us. It was a tough game but tactically we were good. The intention was to be aggressive and sometimes when you do that it doesn’t always work.
“Today it did. I thought it helped to solidify our plan. We had to retreat at times but we were always in the game.
“The work [on the game plan] started on Monday, which is quick. The Champions League last year helped us to work on those two-day turnarounds.
“The players followed the instruction to the letter, they deserve the credit. Fabian [Schar] had big distances to cover in his job, tracking Declan Rice whether he dropped low or went wide or went central.
“At times he went right across the pitch. He is a good athlete and is very capable of doing it.”