Arsenal’s head coach, Mikel Arteta, has suggested that the match ball used in his team’s Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg defeat to Newcastle played a role in their 2-0 loss. Goals from Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon put Newcastle in a strong position, leaving Arsenal with a tough task in the return leg on February 5.
Despite having 23 shots on goal, Arsenal could only manage three on target, leading Arteta to question the ball’s influence on his players’ performance. He noted that his team had missed several chances, many of which flew over the bar, and pointed out that the ball’s behavior contributed to the issue.
“We also kicked a lot of balls over the bar, and it’s tricky that these balls fly a lot, so there’s details that we can do better,” Arteta commented. When pressed by reporters about the ball’s impact, he elaborated: “It’s just different, it’s very different to the Premier League ball and you have to adapt to that. It flies different. When you touch it the grip is very different as well so you have to adapt to that.”
Unlike the Premier League, which uses a Nike ball, the Carabao Cup uses a Puma ball, and Arteta believes this difference affected his side’s shooting accuracy. Newcastle, aiming for their first-ever Carabao Cup win, will take confidence into the second leg, while Arsenal will need to make adjustments to overcome the deficit.
