Anthony Gordon accused of deliberately upsetting Arsenal with brutal two-word remark

Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon has been called out for allegedly taunting Arsenal following his team's Carabao Cup semi-final triumph. Eddie Howe's squad punched their ticket to Wembley with a 2-0 win at St. James' Park on a Wednesday night. Not only did Gordon score in the first leg, but he also rounded off the scoreline in the second and seemed to twist the knife with his post-match remarks.

"It is important for us to stay humble now," Gordon told Sky Sports. "[The final] will be a big occasion but it's so far away. It feels amazing. A proper team performance and we got the win.". Arsenal players and fans had enjoyed mocking Erling Haaland during their 5-1 victory last weekend as the striker had previously told Gunners manager Mikel Arteta to "stay humble" back in September. Having heard Gordon's interview, Gary Lineker and Micah Richards suggested on the Rest is Football podcast that the Newcastle player was making the same joke at Arsenal's expense.

"Have you seen the little s***housery going around with Gordon in his interview afterwards, saying, 'We just need to stay humble?'" Richards asked. Shearer then asked Richards if he thought Gordon meant to provoke the Gunners, with the former Manchester City defender replying: "Do I think it was deliberate? He had it all over his socials and everything!". Lineker was "100 per cent" sure Gordon aimed to provoke the Gunners, while Shearer laughed at the situation. It came days after Myles Lewis-Skelly mimicked Haaland's signature goal celebration – a cheeky response to Haaland seemingly asking the Arsenal defender, "Who the f*** are you?" during their previous clash in September.

Tensions between rival teams have sparked heated debates this week. Premier League boss Tony Scholes has mentioned the possibility of taking action against provocative goal celebrations. However, this was far from a top priority for Newcastle boss Howe, who instead lauded his squad's harassment of the Arsenal backline. "We wanted to get pressure on them [William Saliba and Gabriel] and in order to do that we had to get bodies in the right areas and press high -- that is how we decided to do it," Howe said. "We were playing against elite players and one mistake can make things difficult. We had to be ourselves, be front foot.".

Newcastle will be eager to end their 70-year trophy drought when they face Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final on March 16. The Magpies now turn their attention to their FA Cup fourth-round clash with Birmingham City this Saturday. Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.