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

Carabao Cup organisers mock Mikel Arteta over match ball comments - Newcastle took a major step towards booking their place at Wembley with a brilliant 2-0 semi-final opening-leg victory.

Mikel Arteta has done a fine job since taking over at Arsenal in December 2019, but he’s come out with some bizarre excuses in that time. Being a Premier League manager is undoubtedly one of the most stressful jobs going and sometimes that becomes apparent during post-match interviews.