The Gunners face an uphill task to reach the final after a 2-0 home defeat in the first leg of their semi-final tie on Tuesday (07.01.25) but the manager suggested that the Puma match ball was responsible for his team's wasteful finishing.

Arteta said: "It’s not the result that reflects the story of the game but the reality is that they were super efficient with the chances they had, and we weren’t.

"We were unlucky in moments, you need that certain luck for the ball to bounce and you need that intuition as well. We’re going to have to generate more.

"We kicked a lot of balls over the bar. It’s tricky. This ball flies a lot. It’s just different to the Premier League ball and we have to adapt to that. It flies different, the grip is very different as well.

"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 believes that Arsenal are capable of turning the tie around when they travel to the North East for the second leg in a month's time.

The coach said: "We have to be disappointed as it’s another result that we wanted, but that’s the reality. I have full belief. I have seen my team playing against them - I believe we can do it.

"It’s just half-time [in the tie]. 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."