Eddie Howe paid tribute to his Newcastle side after they secured a third successive away win in the space of eight days and established a commanding 2-0 lead in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Arsenal.

Alexander Isak’s 10th goal in his last nine games and a second from Anthony Gordon inflicted Arsenal’s first home defeat since April as Mikel Arteta’s side racked up 23 shots without finding a way past Newcastle’s Martin Dubravka. Howe insisted he was in the dark over rumours that the Slovakian goalkeeper could be leaving for Saudi Arabia this month after he appeared to wave goodbye to supporters at the final whistle.

With almost a month to wait until the second leg at St James’ Park, the Newcastle manager refused to accept that his side are on the verge of reaching the final. But he admitted he was delighted with their performances in the away wins over Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal.

“It’s still very much game on and we’ve only done half the work,” Howe said. “These are big wins for us – hopefully that can help us in future games. We have to try and win at any ground and go into any game feeling that we are capable of doing that. When you’re in my shoes you have to be strategic and plan well. The second leg is there in the future but it now goes out of my focus.”

Newcastle face League Two side Bromley in the FA Cup at the weekend and Howe revealed that Isak had been taken off in the second half as a precaution.

“He played very well in the first half and looked really good physically,” he said. “He looked free and I was delighted with how he performed.”

Arteta was left to rue a number of missed opportunities but insisted Arsenal are not out of the tie. “When I see the team play, and how we deal with a lot of situations and play against a very good team I must say I have full belief that we can go out there and do it,” he said.

But the Arsenal manager also claimed that Arsenal had struggled to get to grips with the Puma ball being used in the Carabao Cup this season.

“It’s just different,” he said. “Very different to a Premier League ball, and you have to adapt to that because it flies differently, when you touch it the grip is very different as well so you adapt to that.”

• This article was amended on 8 January 2025. Martin Dubravka is Slovakian, not Czech as stated in an earlier version.