The first leg of the EFL Cup semi-finals begins on Tuesday with every kick-off live on Paramount+. The quartet that still remains in the field is not far from being the ideal complement for any knockout competition, and emphatically meets two of the requirements. It would be nice to have a real underdog in the last four, but instead there is a double dose of credible contenders for the biggest prizes in all of sport (Arsenal and Liverpool) along with two old, desperate names in English football. to end a long trophy drought.
Each possible final would make a great day at Wembley on March 16, but which would be richer in narrative, tension and quality? Let’s find out:
4. Arsenal against Liverpool
Any clash between England’s two best teams would likely be exciting, with only one of their last 24 meetings ending goalless and their clash at the Emirates Stadium in October was a real barnburner. Everywhere on the field there would be one-on-one battles that could change the contest. Is there any power known to man that can stop Diogo Jota from scoring against Arsenal? Gabriel Martinelli vs. Trent Alexander-Arnold again? Maybe even the return of Bukayo Saka, the prince of the Premier League who faces its king Mohamed Salah?
All that and a game that could be the first skirmish of a clash of titans that lasts at least the remainder of the season. The Premier League title is not yet out of reach for Arsenal, and it may not be in two months either, given that the EFL Cup final falls just after Liverpool take on Manchester City and Newcastle. These two teams are currently the favorites for the Champions League, it is not impossible that they will face each other on the road to Munich or at the Allianz Arena itself.
And that is the small problem with this final. I don’t need it. I’m not sure I really want it either. I’ve been on the Internet for the last three months. I’ve seen the hell Arsenal and Liverpool fans interact with each other. We’re in for a lot more of that before the season ends. Straying it over a weekend in March wouldn’t be too disappointing.
3. Newcastle against Liverpool
What else can be said except that these rankings were compiled by a child of the 1990s. Newcastle United v Liverpool: It’s giving Tino Asprilla to throw David James, Robbie Fowler or Stan Collymore to the death, Kevin Keegan, pale in the billboards. Even since then you have what “some” call The xG Game a little over a year ago. It’s all drama, Mick! I love it.
2. Newcastle against Tottenham
What do the neutrals want on the last cup day? Simple, gorging on other people’s agony. And there could be few cup finals in English football as delightful as a match between two trophyless pairs like this one. Of course, there have been near misses for both sides in recent years, but they were the type that could easily be explained.
Newcastle stumbled upon Manchester United at the wrong time, almost the only time in the last three and a half years when that team had a genuine air of being worthy of winning even marginal domestic awards. Tottenham fired their coach six days before facing Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. In fact, it’s been a long time since either of these teams reached a major final as favorites. For Newcastle, it might actually be the 1969 Inter-City Fairs Cup their last piece of silverware.
If these two beat the punters in the semi-finals, they would head to Wembley knowing they were facing their best chance of silverware in a generation. Tottenham, who performed so credibly at the weekend with a threadbare defense, would hope to return to full health. If Newcastle continue their current trajectory with a midfield as dominant as almost any other in the Premier League, they will see no reason to fear Spurs.
There is no reason except the damage that defeat could cause them. You can now hear the punditocracy. Newcastle loses and what is the real use of this project, which apparently is still many years away from competing for the Premier League? Is Tottenham, 17 years without titles, condemned to a drought as long as that of the rival that has just beaten them? In pure terms, I can’t imagine losing terms, there are few finals in the English game that can obviously surpass this game. There is, however, one…
1. Arsenal against Tottenham
The greatest rivalry in English football, Transplanted 10 or 12 miles west? A first North London derby in a major final? Remember what we were saying earlier about the opportunities for neutrality. schadenfreude presented by Newcastle vs. Tottenham. Quadruple it. No, no, quintuple.
For Mikel Arteta, a second silver medal would be welcome, especially considering it would be the first one this particular version of Arsenal would win. His selection may not have suggested much, but the Gunners boss has been at pains to point out how winning this title “creates the right path” to greater glory. Ange Postecoglou, for her part, took a swipe at herself when she said in September: “I always win things in my second year.”
In reality, it’s not just about winning a trophy. Perhaps even more so, it would be about stopping the other lot on Seven Sisters’ Road from doing the same thing. This is where Tottenham’s trophy drought really comes into effect. What greater joy could Arsenal achieve than to prolong it, whether for months or years? How much sweeter it would be to finish that against your great rivals.
Arsenal, Tottenham, in an important final? I will love it and I think I deserve it.
