Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta blamed the physics of the ball used in the Carabao Cup for his side's sloppy finishing against Newcastle United on Tuesday.The Gunners slumped to a 2-0 defeat on home soil,

It was a first leg of the Carabao Cup semifinal for Arsenal to forget as Alexander Isak's goal and assist powered Newcastle United to a 2-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium, but while Mikel Arteta gave Newcastle credit for their performance,

Arsenal had to start putting together the sort of run that saw them be almost perfect in the second half of last season but two more dropped points, their eighth draw of the season, leaves them with a lot of ground to make up. There have been red cards to point to in the other games but this result was of their own making.

Arteta has shown a propensity to speak his mind this season, whether red cards he's never seen before, penalties that fit the same description, or even the balls used in different competitions, so get your popcorn ready.

Mikel Arteta tells Bukayo Saka to go on holiday during injury absence - The 23-year-old England international has been ruled out until at least March following surgery on the muscle tear.

That’s according to Ornstein, who has also claimed that if Arsenal sacked Arteta, he would be snapped up ‘within seconds’ by one of the biggest clubs in the world.

The Telegraph’s claim that Mikel Arteta blamed the Carabao Cup ball for Arsenal’s defeat to Newcastle lacks nuance, oversimplifying his analysis of missed chances, but is anyone surprised?Arteta

Arsenal could have Riccardo Calafiori back for their Premier League clash with Aston Villa. Calafiori missed games against Manchester United and Tottenham but the Italian has not been ruled out of featuring against Villa at Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

Liverpool defeated Brentford 2-0, whereas Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes suffered another blow after a 2-2 draw against Aston Villa. Bournemouth boosted hopes of European football next season with a 4-1 win over Newcastle United.

Mikel Arteta admitted Arsenal had to take the blame for their damaging 2-2 draw against Aston Villa after sloppy defending cost them a chance to keep pace with Premier League leaders Liverpool. After Liverpool’s 2-0 win at Brentford earlier on Saturday, the Gunners were left with no margin for error when they faced Villa at the Emirates Stadium.

Darwin Nunez' stoppage time brace gave Liverpool a crucial win to extend their lead while Arsenal suffered a major setback being held to a draw by Unai Emery's Aston Villa.