Mikel Arteta '100 per-cent right' after Arsenal lose to Newcastle
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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been defended by Ally McCoist after his comments in the wake of his side’s Carabao Cup semi-final 1st leg defeat to Newcastle United.
Goals from the in-form Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon gave the Magpies a 2-0 win over the Gunners at the Emirates on Tuesday (7 January), putting them in control of the tie.
Arteta raised eyebrows after the game when he noted the differences between the ball used in the cup, and the one played with in the Premier League on a weekly basis.
Speaking after the game about those differences, the Arsenal boss said: "It's just different. 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." (BBC).
That had led to the Gunners boss being criticised by a number of his own fans, but McCoist has sympathy with the Spaniard.
Giving his reaction to Arteta’s comments while speaking on talkSPORT, the former Rangers striker said: “Now wait a minute, he’s 100% right! No I haven’t (seen the Carabao Cup ball) but I guarantee you there will be a difference in the ball.
“He’s not making any excuses there, I didn’t hear him saying that was the reason for missing chances, all he said was it was a different ball and you’ve got to adapt to it which I probably think would be factually correct.
“Not having seen a Premier League, and a Carabao Cup ball, but you do get different balls. Now he’s not making any excuses, it’s just a fact, a statement that he’s made, that it is different for his players.
“But the fact of the matter is that his players should have scored with that particular different ball.”
Mikel Arteta should be starting to feel the pressure at Arsenal
Football Insider Opinion
Arteta may be right to say that are differences between the Carabao Cup and Premier League balls, but he simply cannot use that as an excuse for this result.
Newcastle had to play with that exact same ball as Arsenal in this game, and clearly they coped just fine with it.
As a result this is now another trophy that is close to slipping out of reach for the Gunners, who will have a huge task at St James’ Park next month.
Arteta’s side have not won silverware since the FA Cup back in 2020, in what was his first season in charge at the Emirates Stadium.
For a club with the size and history of Arsenal that feels like far too long to go without a trophy especially with the potential they have shown to change that trend in recent times.
So if Arteta cannot change things around and get his hands on silverware after so long in the near future, questions are surely going to be asked about whether others could be better suited to the role.
In other news, Arsenal fans have been left worried by a behind-the-scenes update.
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