- Newcastle beat Arsenal 2-0 in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final
- Mikel Arteta highlighted the ball when breaking down the Gunners’ defeat
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The EFL has defended the ball used in the Carabao Cup this season after Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta suggested it had played a factor in their missed chances against Newcastle.
Arsenal suffered a 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg on Tuesday night.
The Gunners had 23 shots at the Emirates, but had just three attempts on target with Kai Havertz producing a glaring miss when he misjudged a header and shouldered the ball wide.
‘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 said post-match.
‘But at the end that’s gone, there’s no way back it’s about the next game and that’s our world, the reality.’
When pressed further on the issue, Arteta added: ‘No, it’s just different. It’s very different to the Premier League ball and you have to adapt to that.
The EFL defended the use of the Puma ball in the Carabao Cup after Mikel Arteta’s comments
Mikel Arteta bizarrely brought up the ball when breaking down Arsenal’s defeat by Newcastle
Arsenal missed several chances as they had 23 shots, but just three of these were on target
‘It flies different… when you touch it, the grip is very different as well so you have to adapt to that.’
In the Carabao Cup, a Puma ball is used, whereas a Nike ball is used in the Premier League.
Clubs are given balls to train with before EFL Cup fixtures.
The EFL have responded to Arteta’s comments, revealing the Arsenal boss is the first to have expressed concerns over the match ball.
‘As is required throughout the professional game, the PUMA ball used in this season’s Carabao Cup and in EFL competition since 2021-22 is tested in accordance with the FIFA Quality Programme for Footballs and meets the FIFA Quality Pro standard,’ an EFL spokesperson said.
‘In addition to the Carabao Cup, the same ball has been successfully used in other major European leagues, including Serie A and La Liga and our three divisions in the EFL.
‘All clubs play with the same ball, and we have received no further comments of this nature following any of the previous 88 fixtures which have taken place in this season’s Carabao Cup.’
Arteta claimed the Puma Carabao Cup ball was ‘different’ and said that ‘these balls fly a lot’
Puma are set to become the official match ball of Premier League matches from next season, with the top flight having opted to switch from Nike after 25 years.
When Arteta was Manchester City assistant manager, Pep Guardiola branded the Mitre ball used in a Carabao Cup last-16 tie victory against Wolves in October 2017, as ‘highly unacceptable’.
Arsenal will play with a third ball in three matches with a Mitre ball set to be used in their FA Cup third round tie against Manchester United this weekend.