Alan Shearer was full of praise for Newcastle United following their Carabao Cup semi-final win over Arsenal. The Magpies legend felt Eddie Howe schooled Gunners boss Mikel Arteta in both legs, opting for a courageous man-for-man system in the second leg at St James’ Park.
Goals from Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon added to the Toon’s 2-0 lead from the first leg, running out comfortable 4-0 winners on aggregate to set up a clash with Liverpool under the Wembley arch.
The Magpies legend burst into song chanting ‘Tell me Ma, me Ma. We won’t be home for tea. We’re going to Wembley! Tell me Ma, me Ma,” much to the disappointment of his co-podcasters Gary Lineker and Micah Richards.
Speaking on The Rest is Football, Shearer and Richards got into a debate over whether Howe ‘schooled’ the Arsenal boss. Former England and Manchester City defender Richards felt that his friend had gone too far in his description.
But it didn’t stop Shearer from winding Richards up, and laughing about the brilliant song sung by Newcastle fans at Arteta towards the final whistle. The Spaniard had complained about the balls in the first leg.
Here is the full transcript of the exchange between the two and Lineker.
Shearer: “I was there and I was still there at one o’clock in the morning, and two o’clock in the morning. It was a great night. What a performance man. I think Eddie Howe schooled Mikel Arteta.”
Richards: “Alan, schooled is a strong word.”
Shearer: “He schooled him. He schooled Arsenal with his tactics.”
Richards: “Odegaard had a chance to score to make the tie 2-1.”
Shearer: “And what happened?”
Richards: “He missed but you can’t say he schooled. Arsenal had chances.”
Shearer: “They had one chance?”
Richards: “They had more than one chance. They did, come on.”
Shearer: “Newcastle gave Arsenal a lesson. They’ve bossed them in two legs, in two games. One at Arsenal and one at Newcastle and they’ve bossed them all over the park.”
Lineker: “Let’s be honest Alan, it was down to the ball.”
Shearer: “Hey, wasn’t that the greatest song? It was a great night. Newcastle throoughly deserved it. I was nervous, I was thinking ‘ah if Arsenal get an early goal.’ But honest guys, the crowd man. They were just unbelievable and I thought everything Eddie did in terms of his team selection, his tactics, it worked to perfection. There were so many impressive performances. I mean there could have been five or six that were man-of-the-match. Trippier was outstanding. His first choice he made in bringing him in, bringing Botman back in, putting Schar wherever Rice got the ball to go and close him down. The second goal was a classic example of how everything worked to perfection. Are you disagreeing Big Meeks?”
Richards: “No, I think you summed it up pretty well. First of all, I was gutted because I lost £500 to you.”
You can listen to the full episode from The Rest is Football podcast here.
Carabao Cup 2025 special edition
Newcastle United have reached Wembley again after reaching the final of the Carabao Cup. The showpiece game takes place on Sunday, March 16 and to celebrate, Newcastle Chronicle will be producing a print special edition. Costing £3.50, it will have interviews, analysis, opinion and news and will be on sale from March 5 in retailers while you can also pre-order online now.
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/full-transcript-alan-shearer-micah-30955980
