Mikel Arteta defended his decision to replace Martin Odegaard as Arsenal were held to a goalless draw by Everton and missed the chance to close the gap on leaders Liverpool.
Arsenal captain Odegaard was withdrawn along with Declan Rice after 62 minutes at the Emirates Stadium, with Ethan Nwaneri and Jorginho in their place.
But while Rice's substitution was due to a nagging injury, Arteta confirmed afterwards that the decision to take out Odegaard was due to “tactical reasons” and not fitness.
The Gunners struggled to create chances in the closing stages without the Norway international as they failed to capitalize on Liverpool's 2-2 draw with Fulham at Anfield.
“With Declan I had to take him out because he felt something,” Arteta said. “And with Martin it was a tactical decision to try to change their rhythm, especially on that side.
“If Ethan comes in and scores a goal, is he a great substitute? If he doesn't, you've taken out your captain. That's football.”
“[His reaction] was the same response as [Gabriel] Martinelli, like everyone else. I'm sure they'll want to keep playing the 90 minutes. But that's why we have the subs. To try to help the team.”
Odegaard had not been at his best during the match. He missed a few presentable chances in the first half and failed to create a single chance as Arsenal failed to make their dominance count for the second league match in a row after the 1-1 draw with Fulham.
But it was still surprising to see him leave given his importance, and the changes did not have the desired impact for Arteta, with Arsenal unable to create clear-cut scoring opportunities in the closing stages as the Jordan Pickford-inspired visitors held on. a hard-earned point.
“I feel very disappointed that I didn't win the match because obviously there is only one team that deserves to win and that is Arsenal,” said Arteta. “We gave nothing away, didn't concede any shots, dominated the direct play, didn't let them run, no set pieces, our high pressing was excellent.
“We created the chances, but in the last twenty meters the goals missed the goals, that's what happens with all that dominance. But I can't ask much more from the boys, other than putting the ball in the net.” “
Finally delighted with the character of Liverpool
Meanwhile, Liverpool fought back at Anfield to claim a 2–2 draw, thanks to Diogo Jota's late equalizer, after Andrew Robertson was sent off in the 17th minute for a last-man error.
Arne Slot was delighted with his side's character as they maintained their six-point lead over Arsenal and said Robertson was punished for continuing to play through an injury.
“The character that the team showed, that is what Robbo showed,” said Slot. “When you get a kick like that, two studs on one knee, it can hurt for a few minutes. If you keep running and it gets better, that's what we were hoping for.
“I only had one defender on the bench, who is not a left-back, so you hope he came through and did quite well.
“But the moment I noticed he wasn't quite himself was the one time they put the ball in the back and he started running and was just able to get back to Ali (Alisson Becker).
“I felt 'Hmm, okay, let's see how this goes' and I think it was quite soon afterwards that he got the red card.
“There was nothing to be blamed for him, the character showed in the will to continue, as he received a pretty hard blow with two studs. Unfortunately, it led to a deserved red card.”
Slot praised his players, who extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to five points, with second-placed Chelsea playing Brentford on Sunday.
“I think it's the exact opposite of Girona (the Champions League win in midweek), where I was happy but not with the performance,” he added.
“Here I am very happy with the performance, I couldn't have asked for more, but of course not with the result, because if you drop points in a home game against Fulham, it is absolutely not what you expect and what you want.
“But yeah, when you let a goal down twice, it all goes against you, except for one thing: our players and our fans. I thought we were excellent.”
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