Mikel Arteta insisted it was ‘just half-time’ after watching his side lose to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup [Will Palmer/SPP]

MIKEL Arteta found himself having to tread carefully this week as he fielded questions about Arsenal supporters leaving the Emirates Stadium early during the Carabao Cup defeat against Newcastle.

Arteta insisted it was “just half-time” after watching his side lose the first-leg tie 2-0 on Tuesday night. But it’s the kind of result that will heap even more pressure on the Gunners ahead of this Sunday’s FA Cup showdown against Manchester United, with frustrated fans starting to demand silverware in return for their faith in “trusting the process”.

In what could be viewed as questioning the commitment of some supporters, Arteta said: “That’s their decision. We try our best and it’s their decision to stay right behind the team or leave.

“I think I repeated a thousand times how important they are and how critical it is to maintain the level of energy and belief in the stadium to generate big moments at the end that we could have had, and because we were very close to score [and make it] 2-1 and we would have needed that, but that wasn’t the case and that’s not good.”

The mood around Ashburton Grove certainly wasn’t helped by rumoured long-term Arsenal target Alexander Isak getting amongst the goals for Newcastle. Gooners have been crying out for a proven striker since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang left the club three years ago – cries that have so far been ignored.

Arteta, though, pointed to the recent 5-1 win over Crystal Palace and 3-1 victory at Brentford as he once again had to tackle questions about his side’s killer instincts in front of goal. He said: “We’re always going to discuss that when we don’t score a goal, because when we score five against Palace or three the next game or whatever, we’re not going to discuss that. I understand, and try to help the players as much as we can.”

Dismissing any fears that missing so many chances could become a psychological problem, Arteta added: “You know, there are things that we could have done better. We were unlucky in moments. You need a certain luck for the ball to bounce there. You need that intuition as well, and if not, we’re going to have to generate more. That’s the thing that we can do.

“Then the probability will be higher for us to win, but certainly against this team to produce what we have produced, and looking back at the last six games that I watched, I haven’t seen it. But the result says 0-2, unfortunately.”

And if you can’t inspire your team to create more chances, you can always blame something beyond your control – with Arteta suggesting that the ball used in the Carabao Cup was also a contributing factor.

“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 have to adapt to that.”