Arteta Blames Carabao Cup Ball for Arsenal’s Defeat, but EFL and European Leagues Disagree
Premier League Museum Admin 
Mikel Arteta Arsenal
Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal, surprisingly blamed the match ball for his team’s defeat in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Newcastle United. The English Football League, however, dismissed his claims. Arteta’s team lost not due to the ball, but because of their lack of a clinical edge, which allowed Newcastle to take the lead in the tie. The Newcastle team displayed tactical acumen and camaraderie at the Emirates Stadium. Arteta, however, insisted that the differences between the Premier League match ball and the one used in the Carabao Cup disrupted his team’s performance.
Arteta said “We 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. It’s very different to a 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 adapt to that.”
The same ball that was used in the Carabao Cup has been successfully used in other major European leagues, including both Serie A and La Liga, and the three divisions in the EFL. Despite Arteta’s complaints, the ball’s performance in these leagues suggests that it is not the cause of Arsenal’s defeat.
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