Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe says the club cannot afford to lose Alexander Isak after his performance in the 2-0 EFL Cup semi-final first leg win over Arsenal on Tuesday night, Afrosport reports.
The Swedish striker of Eritrean heritage opened the scoring at the Emirates Stadium for his 50th competitive goal for the Magpies in 89 appearances.
Isak was taken off after 65 minutes and replaced by Harvey Barnes with Howe stressing on the importance of keeping the former Real Sociedad man fit.
“I think he played very well in the first half today. He looked really good physically, his pace and movements were giving them a problem and I think he looked free,” the English tactician said after the game.
“I was delighted with how he performed, he took his goal really well. But then we knew second half that we needed to manage him, he’s so important. We can’t lose him, we can’t risk losing him so hopefully he’s ok.”
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A half century of Newcastle United goals for Alexander Isak! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/ZgBLgt2upd
— Newcastle United (@NUFC) January 7, 2025
Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta described Isak as a “quality” player.
“And the ball arrives to him, in that I don’t think he created or had any of the big chances,” the Spaniard said.
“He was involved in both goals, unfortunately, the two times that he had the ball in the box. And that’s what you have when you have the real quality up front and they can make the difference, they’re very clinical.”
Isak’s goal took him to 15 for the season in all competitions, 13 of them coming in the Premier League where he has scored in each of his last seven outings.
