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Mikel Arteta explains why he took Gabriel Jesus off at half-time & provides William Saliba & Takehiro Tomiyasu injury update.
Mikel Arteta provided updates on Takehiro Tomiyasu and William Saliba’s injuries and explained why Gabriel Jesus was substituted during Arsenal’s defeat against Sporting.
The Brazilian striker began his first game for the Gunners after missing more than four months due to a knee injury sustained at the World Cup.
Yet after Tomiyasu and Saliba were injured early on in Thursday’s Europa League match against Sporting, Jesus was substituted by Arsenal for the third time at halftime, raising concerns that his comeback had been hurried.
However, Arteta revealed after the match that this move was only a precaution, explaining to reporters: “We decided to do that because we had to manage the subs. Thank God we did take him out, especially after the two windows that we had to use in the first half. That was the plan. Leo [Trossard] is coming from an injury as well and we knew the game could go to extra time and we had to manage that. He looked OK.”
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The news for Arteta’s defensive fatalities wasn’t positive. Saliba had to be replaced immediately after Granit Xhaka’s opening goal despite there seeming to be no contact, while Tomiyasu was replaced after only eight minutes after overextending in a rush to thwart a dangerous Sporting attempt.
The Gunners boss didn’t appear hopeful about an immediate return, adding: “Tomiyasu looks pretty serious from his reaction straight and what he said to me, but obviously, it’s very early. Willy [Saliba], I don’t know, he had some discomfort and could not continue so we had to take him out.”
Thursday’s penalty shootout – in which Gabriel Martinelli agonisingly missed the decisive spot-kick – was Arsenal’s 23rd in all competitions (won 14 and lost nine) and just their second at home, after a 9-8 shootout win against Rotherham at Highbury in the League Cup back in October 2003.
The Gunners’ wait for European success continues after a 5-3 shootout defeat that followed a 3-3 overall draw.
But, with Arsenal still in the first place and hosting Crystal Palace in their next game on Sunday, where Patrick Vieira, a former Gunner, will not be in charge due to his dismissal on Friday, Arteta’s team will be able to concentrate on their Premier League achievements.