Mikel Arteta trolled Carabao Cup handle after blaming match ball for Arsenal loss

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta pinned some of the blame for his team’s defeat to Newcastle United in the first-leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on the ball being used for the match.
Arsenal were wasteful in the first leg at home in the Emirates Stadium. Newcastle United, meanwhile, take home a 2-0 advantage thanks to goals from Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon.
While talking at the press conference, Mikel Arteta was asked what his players could do to improve their finishing. Arteta said: “Nothing, just try and show them and give them tips of what we can do better. I think we kicked a lot of the balls over the bar and it’s tricky that this ball flies a lot. We discussed that as well, so there are details that we can do better.”
Watch: Mikel Arteta blames match ball for woeful finishing

“It’s just different, very different to the Premier League ball” ⚽
Mikel Arteta suggested the Carabao Cup ball was a contributing factor in their loss to Newcastle, and rued Arsenal’s wastefulness in front of goal… 👀 pic.twitter.com/HTM9rPTI1R
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) January 8, 2025
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Arteta then elaborated when asked a direct question about the ball. “It’s just different, it’s just very different to the Premier League ball, and you have to adapt to that because it flies different. When you touch it, the grip is very different as well, so you have to adapt to that,” Arteta said. “But in the end, that’s gone, there is no way back, it’s about the next game, and that’s our world, the reality of our world.”
Arsenal did score 11 goals in the previous rounds of the Carabao Cup — against Bolton, Preston and Crystal Palace — using the same ball.
The official X handle of the Carabao Cup trolled Arteta with a meme of rapper 50 Cent.

https://t.co/P6dZTLnUCo pic.twitter.com/cd5hHAOSZI
— Carabao Cup (@Carabao_Cup) January 8, 2025
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Arsenal had 23 shots in the game against Newcastle United, but just three of those were on target. For the Gunners, Gabriel Martinelli struck the post in the first half while Kai Havertz missed an open header in the second period.
The second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final will be played next month.

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