The Gunners were humbled at home in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final as Newcastle took a strong hold of the tie. Mikel Arteta will have to somehow lift his side for a long January before a chance to turn things around in the second leg.

Arsenal should have taken the lead through Gabriel Martinelli, who struck the post after Jurrien Timber somehow headed a chance over - but they were punished for their profligacy. Before half-time, Alexander Isak struck to give the visitors the lead in the tie after the ball fell to him fortuitously in the box.

Another rebounded ball, this time from an Isak shot fell at the feet of Anthony Gordon right at the start of the second half to unveil a nightmare scenario for the Gunners.

READ MORE: Every word Mikel Arteta said on Newcastle defeat, the ball, Alexander Isak and missed chances

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Here's how football.london rated the Gunners players individually in the match.

David Raya – Mistake early in the first half to give the ball away allowing a Newcastle chance that thankfully went astray. Then parried a shot from Isak into a poor area for Gordon to score the rebound. 4

Jurrien Timber – Should've headed Arsenal in front from a corner. Certainly a sense that more overlapping runs from the Dutchman would be of aid in the absence of Saka, but they remain absent. 6

William Saliba – Beaten early in the half by Isak, who had yet another strong day against the Gunners. 6

Gabriel Magalhaes – Allowed Isak the chance to shoot which led to the Gordon goal in the second half. That was his only fault in the game really with his distribution strong as usual. 6

Myles Lewis-Skelly – Got into some very hairy situations but showcased his own skill to get out of them and progress play or win free-kicks. There is a real player there and he continues to grow with every game – needs to be careful at times though as he did give away the ball to Isak in one dangerous scenario. 6

Thomas Partey – Back in the midfield following his spell at right-back, the Ghanaian was providing the key passes through the midfield and even won a strong free-kick on the edge of the box. 6

Declan Rice – A driving force in midfield and delivered some excellent corners in the game that his teammates should have done better with. 7

Martin Odegaard – Back from illness, still Odegaard failed to look his usual sharp self and had a very good chance skied over the net in the first half. Sadly there was little else in the second half to truly up his performance. 5

Gabriel Martinelli – Had a huge chance in the first half which he struck against the post, and really had to score in the situation. Certainly he looks much more dangerous on his natural left side but that big chance could end up being the frustration of the tie for the Gunners. 6

Leandro Trossard – Almost invisible at Brighton, there was a change to the position as the Belgian moved to the right and did look better. Still, however, he failed to make a meaningful impact on proceedings and was taken off early in the second half. 5

Kai Havertz – Like Odegaard, Kai Havertz returned from illness – in the first half he couldn’t find the right positions to latch on to any knock downs unlike his Magpies equivalent. He missed a massive chance with a header in the second half which, again, had to be scored. Tough not to imagine what would have been had the centre-forwards been swapped on the night. 4

Substitutes:

Gabriel Jesus – He certainly added more energy when he came onto the field but he continues to come so deep as he remains desperate to find involvement in the game. Nothing much in the way of chances fell his way. 5

Jorginho – Replaced Thomas Partey as Arteta wanted more progression from the middle. A couple of passes in behind however could not really find their targets. Came close with one effort. 5

Oleksandr Zinchenko – Replaced Myles Lewis-Skelly as Arteta looked for some more creativity in the side. He came on, got booked and delivered a poor cross. 3