Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been subjected to criticism and ridicule after his controversial statement following his team’s 2-0 loss at the Emirates Stadium against Newcastle in the first leg of the English League Cup semi-final.
Arteta had hinted in press statements after the loss that the ball used in the match had hindered his players.
“We hit the bar a lot, it’s very confusing, the ball flies a lot, it’s just a different ball to the one used in the Premier League, we have to adapt to that. It flies differently,” the Spanish coach said.
A different ball is used in League Cup matches than the one used in the Premier League.
The Carabao Cup (League Cup) account on the X platform reposted a clip of Arteta talking about the ball, accompanied by a picture of American singer 50 Cent with a sarcastic face.
In addition to the sarcasticness, some critics of Arteta’s statement argued that Arsenal scored 11 goals in 3 matches in the League Cup this season with the same ball.
Arsenal need to win by a three-goal margin at St James’ Park in the second leg of the semi-final, knowing that the winner will play Liverpool or Tottenham in the final.
Interestingly, Arteta was not the only coach to criticize the League Cup ball, as he was preceded by Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola.
Guardiola said after his team’s victory over Wolverhampton on penalties in the 2017 League Cup: “The ball is not acceptable in a high-level tournament, it is very light, it weighs almost nothing, it is not a good ball, it is impossible to score with such a ball and I can say that because we won.”