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,

Mikel Arteta believes Arsenal's inability to adjust to the Carabao Cup ball played a role in Tuesday's 2-0 semifinal, first-leg loss against Newcastle United.

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.

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.

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.

A day that began with Newcastle United's six-game winning league run ending with a 4-1 home drubbing by Bournemouth finished with Villa ensuring that none of the five matches resulted in home wins.

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.