It has been 56 years since Newcastle United won a major trophy -- now only Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur stand between them and silverware after they swept aside Arsenal on a raucous night at St James's Park.
With a 2-0 lead to protect, Eddie Howe's team overpowered Mikel Arteta's men to deservedly book a place in the final for the second time in three years.
Newcastle thought they were further ahead in the fourth minute when Alexander Isak found the top corner but was adjudged just offside by VAR.
They did not have to wait long though. In the 19th minute Isak again broke clear and hammered a shot against the post but Murphy followed up to convert the rebound.
Isak was running amok and Arsenal could not handle the intensity of the hosts' approach. Gordon should have added a second from distance just after the break but did find the net in the 52nd minute when Fabian Schar robbed Declan Rice on the edge of the box and the England forward beat David Raya.
That was game and tie over as the vociferous home fans soaked up a night to remember.
Chris Waugh, Jordan Campbell and Anantaajith Raghuraman analyse the talking points.
When the teamsheet came out, the set-up felt very un-Howe-like. It felt like a defensive, almost reactive move, with shifting from his oft-used 4-3-3 system to a back three for only the sixth time from the start of a match during his Newcastle tenure.
But, unlike the 5-5-0 formation he ended the first leg at the Emirates with, Howe's switch up was not a negative shift to protect a lead. Instead, it was built to thwart Arsenal's aerial threat and then to threaten them in transition, despite ceding 68.8 per cent possession during the first half
In fact, it was bespoke and it was brave. In possession, Newcastle deployed a 3-4-3 formation, with Kieran Trippier and Lewis Hall pushing high as wing-backs, the centre-backs spreading wide, and then Gordon and Murphy supporting Isak up top.
Without the ball, it was nominally a 5-4-1, with Gordon and Murphy dropping into midfield, while Hall and Trippier shifted deeper to join the backline. But there was also an intense, targeted press at specific moments.
That involved an almost man-to-man marking system, with Schar shadowing Rice across the pitch -- this was crucial for the second goal -- and Dan Burn sprinting to close down each of Arsenal's defenders at one stage. Joelinton knee injury meant his height and physicality was lost in midfield, but that was compensated for by Sven Botman's return in defence.
Howe had promised beforehand that he would not change his approach and, although the system looked different, his side's philosophy remained consistent. Newcastle were aggressive, they s***housed and frustrated Arsenal at every opportunity.
That is why they have the number on Arteta's side, who have lost three last three visits to Tyneside without scoring a goal.
Chris Waugh
The tie was effectively sealed in 150 defining seconds.
In the 19th minute, Martin Odegaard missed a golden chance to halve the deficit -- his shot from a spinning ball with his weaker right foot, hitting the post and going wide.
Gabriel Martinelli went down in the build-up to that moment, resulting in a pause that lasted about 35 seconds.
When play resumed, Martin Dubravka went long towards Isak, who first hung behind William Saliba and then dashed in front of him to deftly flick the ball to Gordon on his right.
Gordon released Isak with a first-time pass and the Sweden international spun off Saliba to meet it. Saliba attempted to close Isak down on his right, but the Newcastle forward's left foot shot cannoned off the post into the path of Murphy, who scored. Roughly 45 seconds separated Odegaard's miss and Murphy's goal.
Arsenal did not learn. They almost dug themselves a deeper hole in the 49th minute when Saliba was dispossessed in his own half by Gordon, who took aim with David Raya out of position. Gordon's effort curled just wide.
Saliba then headed a loose ball into Raya's hands. Raya took his time, which baited the press from Gordon, before playing a terrible pass to Rice, who had Schar hot on his heels, on the edge of the box. Schar slid in to win the ball and this time, Gordon put it away into the same corner he had missed earlier.
Three minutes of madness across two goals. Game over. Tie over.
Anantaajith Raghuraman
Newcastle supporters had gone 24 years, from 1999 to 2023, without visiting Wembley (for a final at least). Now, for the second time in three seasons, they will descend upon north London -- and so will their team, who have another shot at immortality.
That ludicrously long -- and painful -- trophy drought already stands at 56 years, while it is 70 for domestic silverware, and Newcastle have never actually lifted the League Cup throughout their history.
But, with much of the squad battle-hardened by the experience of that 2-0 defeat to Manchester United from two years ago, there is a belief this team can finally go one better this time. With Isak up front, Gordon out wide, Sandro Tonali in midfield and an extremely solid backline, Newcastle are capable of overcoming any side on their day.
Admittedly, Howe's Newcastle have never beaten Liverpool, so that is yet another new milestone this team will need to tick off, but a brittle-looking Tottenham Hotspur should cause them little fear (even if expectation could get the better of them if that eventuality becomes reality).
"Wembley again, Ole, Ole," Newcastle fans chanted as their team comfortably saw out this game. London became Tyneside-upon-Thames on that weekend in February 2023 and the capital better get ready, because the Geordies are heading down en masse again on the weekend of March 15-16.
Chris Waugh
Saliba usually plays with the casualness of someone who knows that they don't have to get out of third gear to cope with the opposition. Against Isak, though, his air of invincibility seems to vanish.
The Newcastle striker gave him a torrid time in the first-half, winning an aerial ball and running off him in the lead up to the opening goal.
There was another moment in the first half when Saliba came across to the left of defence to sweep up a long ball but was bullied by Isak.
He scored in the home fixture against Arsenal last season and produced a brutal clinic on counter attacking football in the first-leg at the Emirates. It only took four minutes for him to do the same as he raced away from Gabriel to rifle in an offside goal.
Arsenal's centre back duo have been the foundation of Arsenal's success the past three years but they look spooked whenever they face Isak.
Saliba in particular is used to having a mix of athleticism and composure that most opponents cannot cope with. Isak and Anthony Gordon did not allow them to coast on the ball, though, and early in the second half should have made it 2-0 when Gordon robbed Saliba in his own half.
Whenever Newcastle won possession they spotted the space to counter into. It meant Arsenal were never able to fully pen Newcastle in as at the back of their mind was a fear of what Isak and Gordon could do to them.
Jordan Campbell
Nerves were jangling on Tyneside throughout Wednesday. An 8pm kick-off made it a long, tension-filled wait.
But, as Howe had said before the game, anxiety and excitement go hand in hand and, when channelled in the correct way, they can be immensely powerful.
Part of the concern emerging from the weekend was that Newcastle's form had dipped, they had lost successive home matches, including being thrashed 4-1 by Bournemouth.
But this occasion was always going to be different because there was never a chance that Newcastle's big players would fail to turn up for a semi-final second leg on Tyneside.
Wor Flags, the fans' group, had encouraged supporters to bring their black-and-white-striped scarves, and the ground danced in monochrome colours as the players emerged.
They were encouraged to "Get into them", which was the simple message on a banner displayed in the Gallowgate End -- and they did, roared on by a raucous crowd.
St James' boasts a famous atmosphere, but on occasion this season, it has been flat. This was the famous old ground at its very best -- almost impossible for opposition players to play in, and generating a noise which inspired those in black-and-white stripes.
Arsenal looked shellshocked at times and little wonder, given the febrile nature of the home fans.
Chris Waugh
It was always going to be an uphill task for Arsenal but the emphatic nature of their semi-final defeat still served a second dose of dejection.
It is another chance at a trophy gone and means Arsenal have only the Premier League and Champions League left to compete for this season.
They do have an immediate chance to reset psychologically, though, as the loss to Manchester United in the third-round of the FA Cup means that they have this weekend free.
The squad will fly to Dubai tomorrow for some warm-weather training ahead of their next game against Leicester City on February 15.
The time away helped spark their season into life last season after a run of just one win in seven and they will hope that it can have a similar impact this season.
Arteta did say that many things will be the same but the numbers will be different and they may need a different "stimulus".
It was perhaps a reference to the fact that the Newcastle defeat was already their 11th match in 2025, but their ranks may be depleted further after Martinelli went off in the first-half clutching his hamstring.
An injury to the Brazil forward would add to the absences of Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka, further stretching a forward line that Arsenal chose not to add to in the January window.
It has placed a huge ask on Kai Havertz to be available every game until the end of the season but he looked weary at St James' as Arsenal produced a toothless performance.
Jordan Campbell
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.