Eddie Howe sends message to Arsenal after Newcastle lose to Fulham

Eddie Howe remains optimistic that Newcastle will rise to the occasion for their Carabao Cup semi-final clash with Arsenal, despite a second consecutive Premier League setback at St James' Park.

Following a 4-1 defeat by Bournemouth on home turf, the Magpies gave up their lead to lose 2-1 to Fulham, casting a shadow over their preparations for Wednesday night's crucial second leg, where they hold a 2-0 advantage.

When questioned about his concerns after another disappointing home display ahead of what could be the season's most significant match, Howe said: "I think Wednesday night is a totally different game. I don’t think there’ll be too many parallels from today’s game.

"I just think there were similarities in the two home games we’ve just had. I didn’t think we were as bad today as we were against Bournemouth and we had our moments.

"At 1-1, I thought it was our best period of the game. If we score there, the game is very different. But we didn’t, of course. It’s hugely frustrating because I know how much better we are than that performance. We just looked a little flat for whatever reason."

Jacob Murphy, celebrating his 200th appearance for Newcastle, initially gave the team a lead in the 37th minute, but the squad struggled to maintain control and ultimately succumbed meekly.

Howe was left bitterly disappointed and admitted that Joelinton's knee injury had hampered their efforts. He said: "Today is reminder again – not that I need it – that any team can beat you if you drop below, in any stadium.

"I was really confident we would perform well today and it really hurts that we didn’t. We have to recover quickly because there’s a game around the corner, a massive game in our season. We need to make sure we get ready for Wednesday night."

Fulham's head coach Marco Silva expressed satisfaction with his team's second-half performance, saying: "First half, I think they were much more aggressive than us. We made a big impact second half and what a reaction from us.

"(We scored a) great goal on a great offensive transition from us, our first goal; a really sharp move from Rodrigo on the second goal, a well-prepared wide free-kick from ourselves. Overall, I think we deserved the three points for the reaction of the players."