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Manchester City will face Arsenal in the League Cup final after ending Newcastle’s reign as holders with a first-half blitz in their 3-1 victory on Wednesday.

Pep Guardiola’s side were already in pole position after winning the semi-final first leg on Tyneside in January and they finished the job in ruthless fashion at the Etihad Stadium.

Omar Marmoush struck twice in the first half of the second leg, either side of a goal from Tijjani Reijnders.

Anthony Elanga reduced the deficit after the interval, but City’s 5-1 aggregate win sent them back to the League Cup showpiece for the first time since 2021.

City’s final date with Arsenal is set for March 22 at Wembley after the Premier League leaders knocked out Chelsea on Tuesday.

Reaching the final was a welcome tonic for Guardiola following the frustration of blowing a two-goal lead in a 2-2 draw at Tottenham on Sunday that delivered a major blow to their title challenge.

With a crucial trip to Liverpool looming this weekend, City trail Arsenal by six points in the Premier League title race.

READ ALSO: Arsenal Beat Chelsea To Reach League Cup Final

The League Cup was the first silverware of Guardiola’s City reign when they beat Arsenal in the 2018 final, with current Gunners boss Mikel Arteta then working as the Spaniard’s assistant.

City went on to win the competition for the following three years, but haven’t lifted the League Cup since 2021.

Guardiola used sarcasm and statistics this week to defend City against claims the club’s success has been due to the financial muscle of their Abu Dhabi-based owners.

The City manager pointed out six English clubs have spent more than his side over the past five years, but he knows he will never win over the critics.

Guardiola’s only way to silence the outside noise — and mounting suggestions that City are a team in decline — is with silverware.

And after finishing last season without a trophy for the first time in eight years, Guardiola would love to end City’s barren spell at Arsenal’s expense.

 Slick City

With Sunday’s Liverpool showdown in mind, Guardiola made six changes as Erling Haaland, Rodri and Rayan Cherki were left on the bench.

Haaland had just two goals in his previous 11 games in all competitions and his replacement made an immediate impact as Marmoush put City ahead with a stroke of luck in the seventh minute.

Marmoush raced into the Newcastle penalty area and when Dan Burn made a last-ditch tackle, the ball bounced off the Egypt forward and looped into the net.

James Trafford preserved City’s lead, saving at Joe Willock’s feet after the Newcastle midfielder broke through.

Anthony Gordon bore down on goal with just Trafford to beat moments later, but the City keeper spread himself to make a vital save.

Those misses were Newcastle’s last chance to make a game of it as City killed them off before half-time.

Marmoush struck for the second time in the 29th minute, heading home from virtually on the goal-line after Kieran Trippier made a hash of clearing Antoine Semenyo’s cross.

That was the culmination of an incisive City counter-attack and they pulled Newcastle apart again with another rapid raid in the 32nd minute.

Reijnders led the break, picking out Semenyo and racing into the area to finish the Ghanaian’s return pass with a clinical low drive from 12 yards.

The convicted leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has filed a notice of appeal at the Court of Appeal, challenging his conviction and multiple sentences imposed by the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Kanu is insisting that his trial was riddled with fundamental legal errors and amounted to a miscarriage of justice.

In the notice of appeal dated February 4, 2026, Kanu said he was appealing against his conviction and sentences on seven counts, including terrorism-related offences, for which he received five life sentences and additional prison terms after being found guilty on November 20, 2025.

In his grounds of appeal, the IPOB leader accused the trial court of failing to resolve what he described as a “foundational disruption of the original trial process” following the 2017 military operation at his Afara-Ukwu residence.

READ ALSO: Court Strikes Out Nnamdi Kanu’s Motion Seeking Transfer From Sokoto Prison

He also contended that the court proceeded with the trial and delivered judgment while his preliminary objection challenging the competence of the proceedings remained unresolved.

Kanu further faulted the court for delivering judgment while his bail application was still pending, arguing that this affected the fairness of the trial process.

He claimed that the trial court convicted him under a law that had already been repealed, stating that “the learned trial judge erred in law by convicting and sentencing the appellant under the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act, 2013, notwithstanding its repeal by the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, prior to judgment.”

Kanu also argued that he was subjected to double jeopardy, contrary to Section 36(9) of the 1999 Constitution, after being retried on facts he said had earlier been nullified by the Court of Appeal.

He further complained that he was denied fair hearing, claiming that he was not allowed to file or present a final written address before judgment was delivered.

Among the reliefs sought, Kanu urged the Court of Appeal to allow the appeal, quash his conviction and sentences, and “discharge and acquit the appellant in respect of all the counts.”

He also informed the appellate court of his desire to be present at the hearing of the appeal, stating: “I want to be present at the hearing of the appeal because I may be conducting the appeal in person.”

On November 20, 2025, Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, sentenced Kanu to life imprisonment.