Newcastle and their fans were quick to mock Mikel Arteta as Arsenal crashed out the Carabao Cup.
Goals from Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon sealed a 4-0 aggregate win over the Gunners to reach next month's Wembley final, as the Gunners saw their likeliest chance of silverware go up in smoke.
As pressure mounts on Arteta to add to his sole FA Cup win, his complaints over the Carabao Cup ball came back to haunt him on Wednesday night.
The Arsenal manager partially blamed his side's struggles to hit the target on the difference between the ball used in the Carabao Cup and the Premier League version.
Arteta said: "It’s just different. 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."
After Gordon scored to make it 4-0 on aggregate, Newcastle fans quickly sang in unison: “It must be the ball, it must be the ball, Mikel Arteta, it must be the ball."
Arteta was then serenaded with chants of "he’s going to cry in a minute" as Newcastle closed in on a second Carabao Cup final in three seasons.
Gordon after the game called on Newcastle to stay "humble" following the defeat - a popular buzzword with Arsenal fans before the semi-final second leg - and Newcastle's social media team posted a photo of the match ball with the caption: "The culprit."
The culprit: pic.twitter.com/nmPO1nym1z
— Newcastle United (@NUFC) February 5, 2025
Newcastle will face either Liverpool or Tottenham, who play on Thursday night at Anfield, in the final.
