Shay Given claims two Arsenal players were 'frightened' in Carabao Cup defeat to Newcastle United

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Shay Given believes William Saliba and Gabriel were ‘frightened’ of Alexander Isak during Arsenal’s defeat to NewcastleUnited in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.

Mikel Arteta’s side now face a tough task to reach Wembley after goals from Isak and Anthony Gordon sealed a 2-0 win for Eddie Howe’s men in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi final at the Emirates Stadium.

Isak delivered an impressive performance before he was substituted in the 65th minute due to concerns over a hamstring injury.

The Sweden international, who has attracted strong interest from Arsenal, has now scored 10 goals in his last nine appearances.

And Given feels both Saliba and Gabriel will be glad to see the back of the Newcastle striker after his latest display.

‘The two centre-backs, Saliba and Gabriel, have been probably ones of the best parts of Arsenal but I think they’re scared of Isak a bit,’ Given said during his half-time analysis for Sky Sports.

‘His pace, he’s coming in short, he’s running in behind, there was another chance where Isak could’ve put Joe Willock in, he was clean through but just didn’t get enough on the pass.

‘I think he’s frightening these two centre-halves, it’s good for Newcastle.’

Given’s fellow Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp added: ‘That was the difference between the two sides – Newcastle had Isak. I’m sure every Arsenal fan wished they had because that’s the level you had to get to.

‘And Havertz couldn’t offer the same for Arsenal tonight.’

Redknapp also criticised Arsenal’s set-piece coach, Nicolas Jover, after Martin Odegaard was tasked with marking Isak for Newcastle’s opening goal in the first half.

‘I think he [Isak] just bullied them all game,’ Redknapp said.

‘It genuinely blows my mind how you can have a situation where Odegaard is marking that man.

‘He’s the most fearsome striker in the Premier League right now, so difficult to mark and you end up with Odegaard, you’ve got to detail someone there.

‘That is just a massive problem, Odegaard never looks comfortable. I’ve been in that position as a midfield player, he’s playing with his sock, he’s not really interested, and now he’s got two yards ahead of him and now Isak is in control of the situation if the ball comes to him.

‘Odegaard doesn’t think defensively so you have to detail someone. The set-piece coach, I said it at half time, gets a lot of credit, and rightly so, for the attacking set-pieces, but things like that are not good enough from my point of view.

‘You cannot have a situation where he’s [Odegaard] marking him. It’s a complete mismatch. One is thinking, ‘I’m going to score’, one is actually thinking, ‘if the ball comes to me I might be able to do something attacking’, I think it’s a mistake.’

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