Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta admits he was “harmed” by a player’s “emotional decision” ahead of his match against Athletic Bilbao.
Gunner won the Champions League on Tuesday night, beating Athletic Bilbao 2-0 thanks to goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Torosad.
The injury left Arsenal unable to defend their best XI and they weren’t the best against Athletic Bilbao, but Martinelli and Torosad delayed their targets and made a difference from the bench.
Martinelli started on the bench. Arteta has decided to start signing Eberechi Eze in the summer.
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Meanwhile, Martinelli scored in one of the first touches in the post-match one, making an immediate impact by speaking after the match.
“I deserve it. I worship Gabriel. I worship his attitude, his commitment, his positivity, his willingness to do for his team,” Arteta said.
“As a family, we certainly value all the qualities he has and he brings to the team.”
Arteta also said he expects a positive response from Martinelli after Eze set out before him on the left.
He added:
“He has that mentality. He is a constantly willing player to learn, breaking himself and filling in the money himself.
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Arteta also admits that he “harmed” Martinelli from Arsenal’s starting XI.
“It’s always emotionally very difficult to rule out players,” Arteta added.
“How much they want to play this competition, and what it means to them, and whenever you’re in the lineup, you’re disappointed a lot of players.
“They know how I feel about them, so they know that when I have to put players on the bench or get them out of the team, it hurts me, and starting from there, the only thing I can do is my job.
“I have to make decisions and I have to make decisions based on increasing my chances of winning a football match, and I know that’s the only reason I make a particular decision.
