Mikel Arteta: Arsenal boss says Carabao Cup ball was a factor in his side’s wasteful finish against Newcastle | Football News
Mikel Arteta slammed Arsenal’s wastefulness in their 2-0 Carabao Cup semi-final defeat by Newcastle and suggested the ball used in the competition was a contributing factor.
Arsenal missed a number of chances at the Emirates Stadium as goals from Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon put Newcastle in control of the tie ahead of next month’s second leg.
The Gunners had 23 shots worth 3.09 expected goals but could only manage three of them on target, with Gabriel Martinelli hitting the post in the first half and Kai Havertz missing his best chance in the second period when he sent a head awkwardly out. up close.
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Highlights of the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg between Arsenal and Newcastle United
Several other chances flew over the crossbar and Arteta referred to the differences between the ball used in the competition, made by Puma, compared to the one used in the Premier League, which is made by Nike, when reflecting on the scoring struggles of Arsenal at his press conference.
Asked what he could do to help his players improve their finishing, he said: “Nothing, just try to show them and give them advice on what we can do better.
“I think we kicked a lot of the balls over the bar and it’s hard to get that ball flying a lot. We talked about that as well, so there are details we can do better.”
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Kai Havertz misses a great scoring opportunity
Asked again about the ball, Arteta added: “It’s just different, it’s very different to the Premier League ball and you have to adapt to it because it flies differently. When you touch it, the grip is also very different, so you have to adapt to this.
“But in the end, that’s gone, there’s no going back, it’s about the next game and that’s our world, the reality of our world.”
Arsenal failed to score from 23 shots on target
Arsenal had no such problems in previous rounds of the competition, scoring a total of 11 goals in their draws against Bolton, Preston and Crystal Palace while using the same ball.
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Gabriel Martinelli finds the post
Against Newcastle, however, their strange finishing was in stark contrast to Newcastle’s grit, with their two goals coming from a total of just seven shots.
Arteta added: “If you look at what both teams produced and the dominance of the game, obviously it’s not the result that reflects the history of the game, but the reality is that they were extremely effective with the chances we had and we did. it wasn’t.
“There are things we could have done better. We were unlucky at times. You need a certain amount of luck for the ball to bounce there. You also need that intuition. And if not, we’ll have to create more.
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Jurrien Timber steps forward from close range
“That’s the thing we can do, then the chance will be higher for us to win. But certainly, against this team, to produce what we’ve produced, looking back at the last six games I’ve watched, I haven’t see But the result says zero-two, unfortunately.”
Arsenal travel to St James’ Park on Wednesday February 5 with a mountain to climb but Arteta believes his side can turn the tie around.
“We have to be disappointed as it’s another result we wanted, but that’s the reality,” he added. “I have full faith. I’ve seen my team play against them – I think we can do it.”
What’s next for Arsenal and Newcastle?
2025-01-07 23:30:00
