THE capital is preparing for another Toon takeover.

And what a way for Newcastle United to book a place in a second Carabao Cup final in three years, a two-leg dismantling of Arsenal, whose boss Mikel Arteta was mocked mercilessly by the jubilant home fans on Wednesday night.

“Wave the white flag, Arteta,” screamed one on the hour mark. By that stage his side were 2-0 down on the night and 4-0 down on aggregate. Newcastle’s fans were going through their song-book and the injured Joelinton, sat behind the dugout, was joining in.

The supporters waved their scarves and Anthony Gordon took one from the stands and joined in after scoring the goal he deserved early in the second half. That followed Jacob Murphy’s nerve-settling opener.

“It must be the ball,” barked the Newcastle fans at Arteta after the Arsenal boss’s bizarre first leg claim. He retreated to his dugout and, with 20 minutes left, you suspect longed for the full-time whistle to put him out of his misery.

Gabriel Martinelli said Arsenal were heading for Newcastle looking to "score three, four, five" and the club's official social media channels published the away side's team news with the accompanying message 'let's turn this around’.

But the Gunners fired another blank. Over the course of two legs, Arteta’s side had 31 shots on goal but couldn’t beat Martin Dubravka.

Eddie Howe and his Newcastle players are 90 minutes away from ending the painful wait for silverware and being remembered forever. And the Newcastle boss believes his side are better equipped psychologically for the March final than they were two seasons ago. Every player in black and white delivered on Wednesday night. Dubravka was calm, the five-man defence was immense, Bruno and Sandro Tonali snapped into tackles and Gordon was the game’s best player.

On the eve of this second leg, Howe found himself being asked about anxiety, nerves and the dangers of a 2-0 lead.

The advantage earned at the Emirates last month gave the Magpies a platform and a foot in the final but Newcastle's fans knew better than to get ahead of themselves.

Arsenal had 23 shots on goal in the first leg between the sides and humiliated Manchester City three days prior to their trip to Tyneside.

Newcastle's team news raised eyebrows. A change of shape and a move to a back three for the first time this season, with Sven Botman replacing the injured Joelinton and Kieran Trippier coming in for Tino Livramento at right wing-back.

Did that suggest the Magpies were planning to protect their lead rather than add to it?

In a word, no.

At St James' Park, Newcastle's best form of defence is always to get on the front foot. And Newcastle's raucous crowd wasn't in the mood to be silenced.

"I think our success has been a combination of us and the crowd," said Howe prior to the game.

"I think we’ve become a really potent team together and that is what we are going to need in this game."

He got what he asked for. The city and the stadium screamed with anticipation and a banner urged Newcastle players to “get into them”. They obliged, conceding a free-kick after just two seconds. It took just four minutes for Isak to find the net but a further three minutes for the VAR to decide the striker was narrowly offside.

It was Arsenal, not Newcastle, who looked edgy, David Raya slicing an attempted clearance. Arteta called for calm but the home supporters responded by turning the volume up.

The mood inside the stadium would have changed had Martin Odegaard scored. He should have done. Just moments after having one shot blocked by Botman, the Norwegian missed the chance the visitors were desperate for early on when he fired wide from inside the box. Relief and then a release. Within 60 seconds, Newcastle’s advantage was one on the night and three in the tie. Gordon again played in Isak, whose shot crunched back off the post and into the path of in-form Murphy to score for the second game on the bounce.

Newcastle had the advantage, Arsenal had the ball. But lacked ideas. The Magpies were happy to sit deep. If Arsenal were to score the goals Martinelli had threatened, they wouldn’t involve the Brazilian. He was forced off injured late in the first half.  “Is that all you’ve got?” mocked one home fan to Arteta after an overhit Arsenal cross.

Arteta’s frustration deepened when first Kai Havertz and then Jurrien Timber received yellow cards. Havertz was bullied by Newcastle’s defenders all night. The excellent Gordon tried to settle the tie just before the break when he cut in from the left and curled just wide of the far post.

With a bit more composure, Gordon could have finished Arsenal off four minutes into the second half. After robbing William Saliba of the ball midway inside the Arsenal half, the winger opted to try and catch Raya off his line with an audacious first time effort that curled wide.

The miss mattered not. For within three minutes, Gordon was gifted the goal he deserved. It was a mess from Arsenal’s perspective, Raya passing short to Rice who didn’t want it and lost it and the grateful Gordon tapped into the early net. Joelinton banged the top of the dugout in delight.

Arsenal knew their race was run. Substitute Emil Krafth stuck it through the legs of Havertz. Callum Wilson then returned from the bench to a roar. Another boost on a night of delight.

Que Sera was the soundtrack to stoppage time.