League Cup organizers tease Arteta after Arsenal manager blames ball

League Cup organizers have taken a lighthearted jab at Mikel Arteta following the Arsenal manager's remarks about the "challenging" match ball contributing to his team's loss against Newcastle.

Eddie Howe's squad made significant progress toward the Wembley final in March with a 2-0 victory in the first leg of the semi-final at the Emirates on Tuesday, thanks to goals from Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon.

Arsenal attempted 23 shots overall, yet only managed to place three on target, with both Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz squandering key opportunities.

The match ball used in this competition is produced by Puma, in contrast to the Nike ball utilized in the Premier League.

"We sent many balls over the bar," Arteta remarked. "It's tricky. This ball has a tendency to fly. It is quite different from the Premier League ball, and we need to adjust accordingly.

"It behaves differently in the air, and the grip is also notably distinct."

Before the first leg of their semi-final encounter, Arsenal had netted 11 goals in three League Cup matches this season.

The Carabao Cup (League Cup) X account, which boasts nearly 600,000 followers, shared a clip of Arteta discussing the ball during his post-match press conference, pairing it with a meme of US rapper 50 Cent displaying an exasperated expression, seemingly poking fun at the Arsenal manager's comments.

The winner of this tie, with the second leg scheduled for February 5th at St James' Park, will face either Tottenham or Liverpool at Wembley.

Arteta faces mounting pressure to secure his second trophy as Arsenal's manager, five years after clinching the FA Cup in his inaugural season at the helm.

Arsenal, currently positioned second in the Premier League, will host Manchester United in the FA Cup third round on Sunday.