ARSENAL goalkeeper David Raya claims he struggled with the new Premier League ball for Liverpool’s winner against him.
The 29-year-old Spaniard could not stop Dominik Szoboszlai’s free-kick from 30 yards at Anfield.
And after dropping three points he bemoaned this season’s switch from a Nike ball to a Puma one.
And the complaint echoed moans from Gunners manager Mikel Arteta who also stuck the boot into the ball after January’s League Cup loss to Newcastle.
Deflated Raya said: “It’s different to the Nike ball so we have to adapt to it.
“The grip is different, the kick is different.
“We just have to adapt after playing with the Nike ball for many years. It’s the same for everybody.
“We wanted to go forward to attack them, to keep them quiet in the first half.
“We showed a lot of character to keep Liverpool quiet. You have to take the positives from it. It’s fine margins and a magical moment from them.
“We haven’t been beaten from the top six clubs in many games. There are a lot of steps forward to take and learn in every single aspect. There’s always things you have to learn.”
There were only seven minutes left when Raya was beaten by the midfielder’s hopeful strike from distance.
And he just has to hope he has adapted to the new equipment in time for the next Arsenal match, following the international break.
“Disappointed not to save it,” he said. “Like every goal you concede.
“I think it’s a hell of a strike. I remember the ball moving a lot and moving away from me. Hopefully, the next one I can save.
“It’s a very good strike especially with the new balls and everything. We still have to adapt. It’s going away from me so it’s harder to gauge and save it.”
Arteta was unimpressed with the Puma balls at the start of the year when the Toon beat his side 2-0.
The former Everton midfielder complained: “We also 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.
“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.”
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