Mikel Arteta expressed his frustration after Arsenal’s draw with Brighton, questioning the penalty awarded to the home team by referee Anthony Taylor. While it made sense for him to doubt the decision, just three days later, he raised another complaint—not about the referee this time, but about the match balls. Arsenal lost to Newcastle at St. James’ Park (2-0), with Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon finding the net. The Spanish coach voiced numerous criticisms about the balls, blaming them for missed opportunities. In response to Arteta’s complaints, the EFL addressed the issue regarding the balls used in the League Cup.Magpies turn Emirates into their nest as Gunners are inches away from EFL Cup exitThe balls, produced by Puma, are not to Arteta’s liking; he prefers Nike balls, which he claims behave differently.“We sent too many shots over the crossbar; these balls fly too much. There are details we need to improve. The balls are very different from those used in the Premier League, and you have to adapt to them. They feel different,” the Arsenal coach explained as he tried to justify the team’s performance at St. James’ Park.Arsenal attempted 42 crosses against Newcastle pic.twitter.com/NtRjd4lRdi— Troll Football (@TrollFootball) January 8, 2025 Blaming the balls for the failure seems questionable, especially since they are not new—they’ve been used in the League Cup since the 2021/2022 season. In response, the EFL released a statement: “All clubs play with the same balls. In addition to the League Cup, they are successfully used in other European leagues, including Serie A and La Liga, as well as in three tiers of English football. While all teams use the same balls, we haven’t received any such comments during the 88 matches played so far in this season’s League Cup.” This echoes a similar complaint from Pep Guardiola, Arteta’s former mentor, back in 2017. After a match against Wolverhampton, Guardiola criticized the balls:“These balls are unacceptable for a high-level competition. They are too light and move unpredictably. It’s not a good ball. Scoring a goal with such a ball is almost impossible, and I’m saying this even after we won—I’m not making excuses” the Manchester City coach lamented at the time.##NAJAVA_MECA_8618390##
