Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta sighted his team’s failure to adapt to the Carabao Cup match ball as part of what affected them in their semifinal first leg loss to Newcastle United.
The North London side conceded goals from Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon as the visitors gained a healthy advantage at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.
However, Arsenal fluffed at a number of opportunities in the game, registering six big chances from 23 shots, with just three on target.
Majority of Arsenal’s chances sailed over the crossbar and Arteta admitted the tournament’s Puma ball, in comparison to the Premier League’s Nike ball, may have had an impact on their wasted chances and when quizzed on what could be done to solve his players’ poor finishing, Arteta responded with the claim.
“Nothing, just try and give them tips of what we can do better.
“I think we kicked a lot of the balls over the bar and it is tricky that this ball flies a lot. We discussed that as well, so there are details we can do better.”
Quizzed specifically on his issues with the ball, Arteta added: “It’s just different. Very different to the Premier League ball and you have to adapt to that.
“It flies different and when you touch it the grip is very different, so you adapt to that.”
