The stats don't side with the Spaniard.

While Arsenal were made to pay for their wayward finishing against Newcastle, the numbers from their previous three ties in this year's competition do not suggest the ball has been too much of a problem for them.

They thrashed Bolton 5-1 in their opening game, before beating Preston 3-0 and Crystal Palace 3-2 to reach the last four.

Their shooting stats in the EFL Cup are also broadly similar to both the Premier League and Champions League.

• Before Tuesday's semi-final first leg, 27 of Arsenal's 51 shots in the EFL Cup this season were on target - an average of 53%.
• In the Premier League, 102 of Arsenal's 197 shots have been on target - an average of 52%.
• In the Champions League, 33 of Arsenal's 57 shots have been on target - an average of 58%.

Image source, Getty Images

Before last night's defeat by Newcastle, Arsenal had scored 11 goals in three EFL Cup ties so far this season.

The ball in the competition is made by Puma, while the ball used in the Premier League is manufactured by Nike.

"It's just different," said Mikel Arteta when asked to go into more detail about the ball.

"It's very different to a Premier League ball, and you have to adapt to that because it flies different.

"When you touch it the grip is very different as well, so you adapt to that."

Alex Howell
BBC football news reporter at the Emirates Stadium

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta still believes his side can reach the Carabao Cup final - but says his players must first master the "tricky" ball used in the competition.

Arsenal had 23 shots during the match but just three were on target, as Gabriel Martinelli struck the post and Kai Havertz headed a simple chance wide.

When he was asked about the missed chances in his post-match news conference, Arteta said he would not tell his players to change anything, but did mention the impact the ball had.

"We 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.

So, what was behind Arsenal's lack of firepower?

Well, manager Mikel Arteta has a theory...

Shall we talk about those Arsenal chances?

Gabriel Martinelli hit the post for the Gunners when the game was goalless.

Martin Dubravka made an excellent save to deny Gabriel.

Jurrien Timber and William Saliba also failed to score with close-range headers.

And Kai Havertz had a brilliant chance from a deflected cross but mis-timed his header, with the ball actually bouncing off his shoulder and wide.

Image source, Reuters

Newcastle United

Newcastle's Anthony Gordon, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live on possibly winning the EFL Cup: "It would mean the world, but we cannot think about that.

"They can easily flip this fixture if we are not at our best levels."

Haha, love it Martin.

Newcastle's last trophy was the 1955 FA Cup. They were EFL Cup runners-up two years ago - more on that later.

Thanks for getting in touch Harry!

Arsenal had 23 shots last night. Only three of them were on target.

Michael Emons
BBC Sport

Alexander Isak's rich goalscoring form continued as Newcastle United took control of their Carabao Cup semi-final with a superb first-leg win against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium.

Newcastle have never won the competition but will make their second final in three seasons if they avoid defeat, or lose by a one-goal margin, in the second leg at St James' Park on 5 February.

Goalkeeper Martin Dubravka's free-kick was launched forward, Sven Botman headed the ball on and Jacob Murphy played it into Isak's path with the Swede lifting a composed finish past David Raya.

Anthony Gordon doubled the visitors' lead in the 51st minute, converting the rebound after Raya could only parry Isak's shot.

Image source, Getty Images

Right, back to last night's action.

It was a great day to be a Newcastle fan...

Actually, that might make a great Get Involved.

Are there any Liverpool or Tottenham fans who will be missing the match tonight because they're so gripped by the BBC One show?

And do you have any funny/odd stories of you missing your team's games?

I didn't watch the France-Argentina World Cup final because I was at my partner's mother's birthday party. She's not a football fan.

Have no fear though, we can always find a way to talk about non-football things on a football live text.

Traitors tonight, anyone?

Before you ask, no, it was a different taxi driver today.

No radio, no music. No tunes stuck in my head.

A real shame.

Image source, Getty Images

Wow, the perfect away performance, dare I say - smash and grab?

Last night, Newcastle rallied to keep out Arsenal, score two, and give themselves a sizeable advantage in their EFL Cup semi-final.

There's still 90 minutes to play at St James', but Newcastle fans can be forgiven for dreaming of another trip to Wembley.