St James’ Park was electric during Newcastle United’s Carabao Cup win against Arsenal on Wednesday night.
Everyone was up for that game; the players knew how much it meant to the fans, and the fans knew exactly what they had to do to intimidate Arsenal.
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It looked like Mikel Arteta’s players were shellshocked when they stepped out at St James’ Park for the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg, a game in which they needed to overcome a two-goal deficit.
The Magpies got off the blocks quickly thanks to Jacob Murphy’s early strike, the Magpies then doubled their lead in the game and saw off the tie, thanks to Anthony Gordon’s close-range finish in the second half.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe urged fans to be loud for the game and they delivered just that. Newcastle fans even joked with Arteta when they were comfortably ahead.
Every Newcastle player on the pitch on Wednesday fed into the atmosphere and kept the fans entertained throughout.
While the atmosphere was some of the best heard at the stadium in years, it could be something Newcastle fans will have to create in a new stadium in the future.
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General view inside the stadium prior to the Premier League match between Newcastle United FC and Fulham FC at St James’ Park on February 01, 2025 …
Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images
PIF must make the right decision for Newcastle fans
Talk of a new stadium ramped up this week after plans for a £1.2bn stadium for Newcastle were revealed, which would see St James’ Park knocked down.
A new stadium is one of two options for Newcastle; the other is to stay at St James’ Park and expand to around 60,000. Expanding St James’ Park would cost £800m and take five years to complete but would certainly keep a core group of Newcastle fans happy.
The initial belief was that the PIF wanted to stay at St James’ Park due to its city centre location. However, According to the Telegraph, the PIF are now leaning towards a new stadium after seeing plans which would be just behind the existing site in Leazes Park.
Plans showed a bowl-type stadium in the park, Newcastle would follow the likes of Tottenham Hotspur as clubs who have designed their stadium in that way.
The concern for Newcastle fans is that the soul of the football club will be ripped out if they move to a new, modern stadium. Although there will be a capacity increase to just under 70,000 seats, there could be more hospitality seats which would leave more hardcore Newcastle fans without a ticket.
The PIF have a huge decision to make, but the atmosphere inside the ground on Wednesday night was surely a sign that they should consider their options before making a final choice.
There are positives for both scenarios; a new stadium would bring much greater revenue to the club, which will help them in the long run – staying at St James’ Park keeps the soul of the football club alive.
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What Bruno Guimaraes said about Newcastle’s atmosphere
Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes has the opportunity to become the Magpies’ first captain to lift a trophy at the club since 1969.
The Brazilian was sensational against Arsenal but admitted that the fans were the driving force for the win. After the result, Guimaraes made a big request to Newcastle fans that he hopes they can stick to for the rest of the season at least.
“If St James’ Park was like this every game we could fight for big things,” he said.
“When the atmosphere is like that, it’s so hard for anyone to beat us”
Bruno Guimaraes “If St James’ Park was like this every game we could fight for big things. When the atmosphere is like that, it’s so hard for anyone to beat us”#nufc
— Andy Kerr (@AndyKerrtv) February 5, 2025
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Newcastle only have one home game before the Carabao Cup final, they take on Nottingham Forest on February 23 – fans will be hoping that neither Chris Wood nor Elliot Anderson come back to haunt them.
