Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was delighted by the impact from his substitutes Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard after they both scored in the win over Athletic Club
Mikel Arteta has emphasised to Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard that their roles as substitutes are more important than Arsenal’s starters. Arteta’s substitutes made the difference in their opening Champions League game of the season on Tuesday night, scoring both goals in the 2-0 win over Athletic Club.
The Gunners were far from their best in the Basque Country, with Viktor Gyokeres spurning their best chances and Eberechi Eze ineffectual on the left wing. It had been a frustrating night up until Martinelli and Trossard were introduced for the two summer signings.
Trossard sent Martinelli through to make it 1-0 with a side-footed finish before the Brazil international returned the favour, teeing up his fellow substitute whose deflected shot found the net. Arteta was delighted with the impact off his bench and clearly wanted to get a particular message across post-match.
“Unbelievable, both him and Leo. They have very different qualities to Ebs and Viktor,” he told TNT Sports. “I look at them and immediately they were ready, they were connecting with each other.
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“I’m very pleased because I told them: ‘Guys, most of the time you’re going to be more important, so the quality of the minutes is going to be critical’. And I’m very pleased because it’s going to help us.”
Arteta elaborated on his point in his post-match press conference. Asked what he told his substitutes, Arteta said: “That they are at least equally important, or more important. We have discussed that the finishers are going to be more important this season, sometimes more than the starters.
“We can change the game there, especially with the intensity that we play, especially when the team starts to drop off, and I’m very pleased to see that. Piero [Hincapie] comes in and plays six minutes, the first six minutes he’s played, and Christian [Norgaard] is the same. That’s the attitude I want from all of us.
“It’s always very difficult emotionally to leave players out, I know how much they want to play this competition, and what it means to them. Every time you give the line-up, you are disappointing a lot of players, but to have that experience…
“I looked on the bench, I looked at him (Martinelli), and in his eyes I could see that he was ready, Leo as well. They play with a confidence, and that connection between them as well, and it’s really good. I think that’s going to help us a lot for the season.”
Arteta has taken to calling his substitutes “finishers” – a term that has become popular in recent years as a way to re-categorise those who don’t make the starting XI. “Yes, I did, and I love it because I don’t like other words to describe the players,” he said when asked about it.
“I think if the game is developing, they are going to be more important in many minutes, so the quality of those minutes is going to dictate the quality of our season for sure.”
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