Arteta mocked by League Cup organisers after ‘tricky’ ball excuse

LONDON: League Cup organisers have poked fun at Mikel Arteta after the Arsenal manager suggested the “tricky” match ball played a part in his side’s defeat by Newcastle. Eddie Howe’s men took a major step towards the Wembley final in March with a 2-0 semi-final first-leg victory at the Emirates on Tuesday, with goals from Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon.

Arsenal have a mountain to climb when the sides meet for the second leg on February 5 if they are to progress to meet either Tottenham or Liverpool in the final. Arsenal registered 23 shots in all, but only three on target, with both Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz missing golden chances.

The ball used in the competition is made by Puma, while the one used in the Premier League is manufactured by Nike. “We kicked a lot of balls over the bar,” said Arteta. “It’s tricky. This ball flies a lot. It’s just very different to the Premier League ball and we have to adapt to that. It flies different, and the grip is very different as well.”

Prior to the first leg of their last-four clash, Arsenal had scored 11 times in three matches in the League Cup this season. The Carabao Cup (League Cup) X account, which has nearly 600,000 followers, reposted a clip of Arteta speaking about the ball during his post-match press conference and accompanied it with a meme of US rapper 50 Cent wearing an exasperated expression in an apparent dig at the Arsenal manager’s comments.

The winner of the tie, with the second leg taking place at St James’ Park on February 5, will face either Tottenham or Liverpool at Wembley. Arteta is under pressure to deliver his second trophy as Arsenal manager, five years after he won the FA Cup in his first season in charge. Arsenal, who are second in the Premier League, host Manchester United in the FA Cup third round on Sunday.