Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta provided insight on Takehiro Tomiyasu’s halfway replacement during their recent Champions League match against Sevilla on a night full with glory and concern for the Gunners.
The Gunners secured a crucial win thanks to goals from Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka on each side of the interval, moving them closer to qualification.
However, the joy was short-lived as Tomiyasu was forced to leave the field at halftime due to an injury.
Arteta explained the decision, stating, “He had some discomfort in the first half, and we didn’t want to take any risks. He’s played a lot of minutes, and obviously having Alex [Zinchenko] on the bench ready to come in, I think it was the right decision.”
Arteta added: ‘They are racing against the clock to be fit and they are trying their best and they tried to be here today with us.
‘It wasn’t possible and now we have another 48 hours before we play Burnley. We will try again and we will see because we need players at the moment.’
Meanwhile, after consecutive defeats, Arteta was delighted to see his side bounce back with a victory that all but assures them a place in the knockout stages.
He said: ‘I think it was more of the really good things that we did against Newcastle, we didn’t need a response because the team performed extraordinarily well against a team that are really difficult to play against.
‘Today it needed other requirements, tactically we needed something else, we played at home, we need a different game, and we implemented what we wanted really, really well, so I’m really happy with the last two performances.’
Arsenal is currently dealing with an injury crisis, with key players like Gabriel Jesus and Thomas Partey sidelined. Captain Martin Odegaard and striker Eddie Nketiah also face uncertainty in their readiness to feature in the upcoming clash against Burnley.
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