Arsenal fans call for Mikel Arteta to make unthinkable decision after Carabao Cup semi-final defeat

Arsenal fans have demanded Mikel Arteta make an unthinkable decision after the damaging Carabao Cup semi-final second leg defeat to Newcastle United.

The Gunners trailed Newcastle 2-0 from the first leg at the Emirates thanks to goals from Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon and Eddie Howe's men outfoxed Arteta's troops once again on home soil to to set up a date in the final at Wembley on 16 March.

Jacob Murphy opened the scoring before Gordon made it 4-0 on aggregate in the second half at a raucous St James' Park.

Arsenal trounced reigning champions Manchester City 5-1 on Sunday but were not at the races in the North East, with Newcastle executing their game-plan perfectly.

There were also plenty of poor performances from an Arsenal perspective, with William Saliba looking uncharacteristically shaky and David Raya gifting a Newcastle second with a poor pass into Declan Rice minutes after the second half got underway.

But Arsenal fans directed criticism at another one of their man man, with many calling for Arteta to take the captaincy off Martin Odegaard.

The Norwegian spurned a glorious opportunity to put Arsenal ahead and get them back in the tie and was largely ineffective.

He was substituted for Raheem Sterling in the 61st minute and now Arsenal supporters no longer want to see him with the armband.

One fan on X said: "Strip the captaincy of pillow foot now! Been so s**t this season!"

A second commented: "Strip Odegaard of captaincy. Sorry enough is enough and he isn't fit for the role."

A third echoed the view, writing: "Also our captaincy needs to be reconsidered. Odegaard is everything, but a captain."

A fourth suggested: "Strip Odegaard of captaincy and give it to Rice. That boy has no minerals gets taken for a walk it's a joke."

A final user fumed: "Odegaard needs to be stripped off his captaincy. What a coward of a player."

Newcastle will play the winner of the second semi-final between Liverpool and Spurs, with the latter taking a 1-0 lead to Anfield on Thursday night.

The Magpies are back in action on Saturday when they travel to League One leaders Birmingham City in the FA Cup third round, while Arsenal will have a break following their third round exit at the hands of Manchester United.

They will return with a Premier League game against Leicester City on 15 February.