Alan Shearer reveals nine-word text he sent Newcastle United star after Arsenal semi-final
Alan Shearer has disclosed the nine-word message he sent a Newcastle United star following the stunning semi-final victory over Arsenal.
Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon fired Newcastle to a second Carabao Cup final in three years as the Magpies secured a thumping 4-0 aggregate win over the Gunners and moved a step closer to ending their 70-year wait for a domestic trophy.
Speaking on the Rest is Football podcast with Gary Lineker and Micah Richards, Shearer lauded a host of players, including Alexander Isak, Sandro Tonali and Gordon. The United icon reserved special praise for Dan Burn, revealing the contents of a private message he sent the centre-back after the second leg.
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"Big Dan Burn!" Shearer began. "I text him today and said, 'God, you have been amazing the last few weeks'."
Shearer, who revealed he is already being lobbied for tickets for the final, then hailed Eddie Howe for completely out-thinking Mikel Arteta across both legs. He added: "There were so many impressive performances from the players and particularly from the manager.
"I thought he got his tactics absolutely spot on. Arsenal couldn't live with the intensity and the aggression and the energy that Newcastle had."
Richards was also complimentary of Newcastle as he assessed Arsenal's performance. He said: "Newcastle didn't give them a second. Newcastle were set up to counter-attack Arsenal, but they defended so well. They pressed so well and were organised.
"Without Joelinton out, I wondered how they were going to set up. To change it for such a big game, it could have been seen as a negative but the way they played it was to a tee.
"Arsenal did OK up until the final third but didn't have the quality to break them down. I didn't think Arsenal were bad, I just thought Newcastle were better."