Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has stated he will not hesitate to throw Lewis Miley into the deep end at Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg.

Howe made it clear it is close to impossible to replace Bruno Guimares in his midfield engine room with the Brazil star suspended for the encounter in North London. Howe has Joe Willock, Sean Longstaff and the youngster Miley in contention to come in at the Emirates Stadium.

Before Howe had even digested the 2-1 win at Tottenham on Saturday afternoon, he spoke of the need for "energy" in his line-up against Spurs' bitter rivals the Gunners. Could that man be Miley on Tuesday evening in the capital. The England youth international certainly has big game pedigree after facing the likes of Paris St-Germain in the Champions League last season and a host of other powder-keg Premier League games.

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Howe told Chronicle Live: "He is building that robustness that only training for that length can give you. He is ready to play I'd say. I would have no concerns about putting him into the team. He has that big game experience that you are talking about, he has played in the Champions League at St James' and some top grounds and done very well. He is a valuable member of the squad."

Miley's 2023/24 campaign was a tale of extreme highs and almighty lows as he grabbed his top-flight debut, lined up against Kylian Mbappe and co in Paris, scored his first Premier League goal and added to his international honours with the Three Lions. But his season was then curtailed early by a back injury before an off season fall saw him suffer a broken foot to rule him out of pre-season.

Howe has had to slowly coach Stanley lad Miley back to the first-team picture with the pair even agreeing a stint in the reserves would not do him any harm.

Howe said: "Yes, I have had chats, of course. I am in regular contact with Lewy. He is in a good place and has come back from his injury and he has looked good. He has trained now for a long period of time."

When asked on the prospect of replacing Bruno, Howe, with a smile, said: "Trying to find someone to play like Bruno is not easy. No two players are alike and you have to look at who you bring in and try to make him play to the best of his own ability, his style really. "So I have no doubt there will be a slight change for us to be without Bruno but (whoever comes in) he can do what he does.

"But that does not mean whatever change we make cannot be effective for the team. We will have to try to look at that and find the right balance because the balance has been so good in the last few games. That is why we have executed what we have. To get the balance right with a new player coming in, we will have to look at it closely."