With the January transfer window having closed, all the focus is back on Arsenal's upcoming fixtures with the first of those a huge Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Newcastle United. The Gunners are 2-0 down from the first leg - which was played over a month ago - following goals from Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon.

Although the Magpies are huge favourites to make the final, the last four weeks have been very different for both teams. While Arsenal are fresh off battering champions Manchester City 5-1, which was their fourth straight victory in all competitions, Newcastle have lost two of their last three games.

Despite the advantage they often have at St. James' Park, too, both of those reverses came on home soil against Fulham and AFC Bournemouth. With that in mind, there is optimism among many that Arsenal can still go through despite the challenge that awaits.

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Arteta was handed a major boost ahead of the game with Myles Lewis-Skelly's red card, picked up against Wolves overturned after the review. The 18-year-old featured against City and scored his first goal for the club, while fellow Hale End academy graduate Ethan Nwaneri also found the back of the net.

The duo have breathed new life into Arteta's team, and their emergence somewhat makes up for Arsenal's lack of business last month. As no new signings were brought in, Arsenal will face Newcastle with mostly the same group of players looking to avoid a third defeats to Eddie Howe's side this season.

As Arsenal are out of the FA Cup, following this game Arteta and his players will have a 10-day break, a portion of which will be spent in Dubai, before returning to Premier League action at Leicester City. With that in mind, Arteta will likely name a strong team and two of the names in his starting XI could have just been confirmed.

On X (was Twitter), the Gunners have posted two pre-match graphics promoting their huge Carabao Cup tie on Tyneside. Late into Tuesday evening, Lewis-Skelly featured in the centre of their post, before club captain Martin Odegaard was placed in their image on the day of the game.

Given their respective importance and recent displays, it is very likely that both do play for Arsenal this evening. The likes of Declan Rice, Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba are just a few others that will, almost certainly, be named from the start by Arteta, too.