Arteta Praises Substitute Players After Bringing Victory In The Champions League

Arsenal's substitute is an important actor in the win against Athletic Bilbao (Instagram/@arsenal).arse

JAKARTA - Mikel Arteta praised the strength of the Arsenal squad. He said that the finish could be more important than the starting players after goals from substitutes Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard sealed a 2-0 win in the Champions League opener against Athletic Club in Bilbao.

Martinelli only took 36 seconds to score Arsenal's opener in the 71st minute after replacing Eberechi Eze. His goal came after receiving a through ball from Trossard, who replaced Viktor Gyokeres six minutes earlier.

Martinelli and Trossard then worked together to score Arsenal's second goal in the 87th minute. After seeing the changes in the final minute had a decisive impact, Arteta said his substitutes proved their ability to change the game.

"Sometimes the finishers will be more important than the core players of the season. In the end, the finishers had an impact on winning the game."

"They (substitute players) are at least as important and may be more important, in that stage of the match."

"It's always very difficult emotionally to cross out players. I know how much they want to play in this tournament and what it means to them."

"Every time you give a line-up, you disappoint a lot of players. They know how I feel about them."

"So they knew that when I had to drop the players on the bench or get out of the squad, it hurt me."

"However, the only thing I can do is my job. I have to make a decision. I have to make decisions based on the priority increase to win football matches."

"They know that that's the only reason why I'm going to make certain decisions, sometimes right, sometimes wrong," Arteta said after the game.

Arteta, who said there were no concerns about Viktor Gyokores and Gabriel Magalhaes' head injury after the first half collision, immediately praised Martinelli for his rapid contribution to the goal.

Arteta said he saw from the Brazilian winger's eyes that he was ready to play an important role.

"I admire Gabby. Her attitude, commitment, positivity, what she is willing to do for the team."

"I don't know about his outside performances, but we certainly appreciate all the qualities he has and that he brought to the team. I'm very happy that today he decided the match."

"When I look on the bench and look into it, in his eyes I can see that he is ready, as is Leo (Trossard)."

"They played with that confidence and the connection between them was also very good. I think it will really help us this season," said Arteta.