Newcastle United face battle to retain £12m star as David Ornstein offers verdict on Arsenal’s £100m Isak push

Newcastle United took another step closer to ending their 70-year wait for a domestic trophy by securing a 4-0 aggregate victory against Arsenal across two legs.

Goals from Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon helped Newcastle to double their advantage over the Gunners in their third consecutive 2-0 victory against Mikel Arteta’s side across all competitions. However, the real man of the moment was once again in-form Swedish striker Alexander Isak, who once again produced a mesmerising performance to unnerve one of the Premier League’s finest defences duos in Gabriel and William Saliba.

“The Newcastle centre forward has got Gabriel and Saliba on toast,” said commentator Gary Neville. “This is him messing Saliba around. Just can't handle him. Not many can.” Later on as Saliba was shown a yellow card, Neville added: "I've not seen him as ruffled for a long time."

Isak was awarded the Man of the Match for the third time against Arsenal this season - and at a time when the Gunners are crying out for a centre forward it is clear to see why there are so many fans of the capital side crying out for his signature.

Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson urged the team to ‘break the bank’ for Isak in an appearance on Sky Sports last week and after the match continued to attempt to fuel speculation by commenting: “He can only go to Arsenal in the whole world really.”

David Ornstein offers Alexander Isak to Arsenal verdict

Football transfer guru David Ornstein has rubbished speculation linking Arsenal with a move for Newcastle’s in-form Swedish forward Alexander Isak, but does claim that Mikel Arteta was once very close to bringing the forward on board during his Real Sociedad days.

When appearing on Sky Sports News’ Back Pages, he explained: “There isn’t a latest because Arsenal missed their chance with Isak a couple of years ago when they considered signing him in the January from Real Sociedad.

“For whatever reason they didn’t go through with the deal and he ended up at Newcastle. And there was scrutiny about that deal at that time and I think it was about £60m which is not the highest fee, but he’d been in a bit of form and he’d struggled with injuries.”

Isak has scored 19 goals and registered five assists in 27 matches across all competitions this season and he is the third top scorer in the Premier league with a ratio of 0.85 goals per game in the top-flight.

Ornstein continued: “The way he has developed and flourished is just spectacular and it probably makes Arsenal rue their missed opportunity. He is probably the player at the top of Mikel Arteta’s list if he was to sign a striker. He’s seen as perfect for Arsenal’s system and everything he offers.

“However, Newcastle fans will hate hearing that because he’s under contract for a few years yet. He’s their key player and he’s at the centre of everything that their Saudi-led owners are doing and they have no intention of seeing him go anywhere. They want him to sign a new contract and if they don’t qualify for the Champions League maybe there’s a slight possibility.

“But really the price will be so high that maybe Arsenal should be looking at the next Isak not the one that’s on the market if he was to ever go on the market.”

Newcastle United face late battle to retain £12m star

Turkish heavyweights Galatasaray are expected to be busy ahead of the closure of the Super Liga window on 11 February and are believed to be planning a late push to sign former Newcastle United captain Kieran Trippier. The outlet understands the Istanbul based side have made the ex-England international a priority addition, but have told ESPN that getting the deal over the line could be ‘complicated.’

Trippier, who is under contract until 2026, has struggled for game time this season due to the form of Tino Livramento, but was hugely impressive on his return to the line-up in Wednesday’s semi-final.

He is understood to be a key part of Eddie Howe’s plans for the campaign and Newcastle are keen not to lose any more of their squad players after cashing on Lloyd Kelly and Miguel Almiron in January.