Mikel Arteta explains surprise Arsenal substitution against Aston Villa as reason made clear | OneFootball

Late change at Villa Park sparked initial concern among Gunners fans

Mikel Arteta has explained why he chose to substitute Leandro Trossard during Arsenal’s last-gasp defeat by Aston Villa.

Trossard was initially named on the bench at Villa Park, but was sent on at half-time by Arteta, along with Viktor Gyokeres, with Eberechi Eze and Mikel Merino both making way after a disappointing first period in which Arsenal trailed to Matty Cash’s strike.

The former Brighton star’s impact was once again swift as he capped a period of Arsenal dominance to tap in Bukayo Saka’s deflected cross, registering the equaliser just seven minutes after being introduced.

It was a sixth goal of the season across all competitions for Trossard, who has proven one of the club’s most important players during their title push so far and continues to show his value in big moments, particularly off the bench.

However, the 31-year-old only lasted for 41 minutes in total against Villa as the substitute himself was then substituted late on, replaced by Gabriel Martinelli as Arsenal went on to suffer a rare and heartbreaking defeat courtesy of Emi Buendia’s dramatic last-gasp goal that blew the title race wide open.

Concerned fans wondered if Trossard’s surprising withdrawal before the end signalled that he had suffered a setback or potentially even a new injury, though Arteta has now allayed those fears by revealing that the player’s minutes were simply being carefully managed after he was sent on earlier than expected on his return.

“At some point, I thought we were going to win it, and there were moments when we gave very strange giveaways that are nothing to do with us,” said the Arsenal boss.

“It's football as well, but the boys are willing to put absolutely everything. They tried, the situation with Leo [Trossard] is the same. He could only play a certain amount of minutes.

“We made the decision to do it early and he would have to do it after. That was the reason why we had to change him and learn from it and go again.”