Mikel Arteta lamented Arsenal’s inefficiency in front of goal compared to Newcastle and Alexander Isak, but backed his players to turn around the 2-0 Carabao Cup deficit – so long as they adapt to the “tricky” ball being used in the competition.
Despite having 23 shots and creating several big chances on the night, Arsenal failed to convert any of their opportunities.
The away side on the other hand were much more ruthless in front of goal, with strikes from Isak and Anthony Gordon giving Newcastle a 2-0 advantage ahead of the Carabao Cup semi-final second-leg on February 5.
“If you look at what both teams produced and the dominance it’s not the result that reflects the story of the game,” Arteta said.
“But the reality is they were super-efficient with the chances they had and we weren’t. At this level, in these kinds of scenarios, you need to impose yourself and win again.
“It’s just half-time. When I see the team play, and how we deal with a lot of situations and play against a very good team I must say I have full belief that we can go out there and do it.”
The Carabao Cup uses the Puma Orbita 1 while the Premier League uses the Nike Flight football.
Arsenal had few problems finding the target in previous rounds as they put five past Bolton, three past Preston and another three past Crystal Palace in the quarter-final.
They spurned several big chances against Newcastle with Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber, and Gabriel Martinelli all guilty of missing the target from close range and Arteta was asked how they put those moments out of their mind when they travel to St James’ Park next month (February 5) for the second-leg.
“Nothing, just try and show them, give them kicks or tips of what they can do better. We also kicked a lot of balls over the bar, and it’s tricky that these balls fly a lot so there’s details that we can do better,” he said.
“But at the end that’s gone, there’s no way back it’s about the next game and that’s our world, the reality is our world.
Arteta was asked what the issue was with the football.
“It’s just different,” he said.
“Very different to a Premier League ball, and you have to adapt to that because it flies differently, when you touch it the grip is very different as well so you adapt to that.”
GO DEEPER
The Briefing: Arsenal 0 Newcastle 2 – Eddie Howe’s greatest feat yet? What next for Arteta and co?
(Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
