Mikel Arteta insists he held discussions with Bernd Leno about his place in the squad before replacing him with Aaron Ramsdale.
The German goalkeeper has found himself out of the starting XI in recent weeks despite being No 1 for several years.
Ramsdale was a £30million summer signing from Sheffield United and he made his Premier League debut in the win over Norwich last month.
The Englishman has retained his starting berth ever since, keeping two clean sheets.
He also made several big saves in last weekend's north London derby win and is beginning to prove some of his doubters wrong.
Question marks now hang over the future of Leno, who appears frustrated by how the whole episode has played out.
What has Leno said?
The German made his feelings clear last weekend after he again watched on from the substitutes' bench.
Leno insists he has to accept Arteta's decisions but is still confused as to the motives behind the switch.
He has also begun speculating about his future, claiming a move away from the Emirates may be on the cards.
"There was no clear reason why I was out, but it had nothing to do with my performance," Leno told Sport Bild last weekend. "He is the trainer, he decides. Of course, it's difficult for me.
"Only if nothing changes in my situation by winter would I have to think about things: what option do I have, how can I continue? I’m concentrating on my work in training; I can't commit to anything else at the moment."
How has Arteta responded?
The Gunners boss has refused to get drawn into a media exchange with his goalkeeper but maintains talks were held before Ramsdale came in as a starter.
"I had a very clear conversation with him (Leno) 48 hours before I was going to make the decision," Arteta said.
"Obviously any conversation I have with him is completely private and I'm not going to speak with any media about it."
The Spaniard has by no means shut the door on Leno, who is again on the bench for Arsenal's trip to Brighton.
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Arteta was quizzed on what he expects from his goalkeeper and said: "The same that he's done every single day.
"Train the way he does, be the way he is, the person he is, the way he handles himself, and try to help the other keepers and the other keepers try to help him."
Leno has made 121 appearances for the Gunners since signing from Bayer Leverkusen in 2017.
It was Arsene Wenger who bought him to the club, but Arsenal signed a host of players over the summer, Ramsdale among them, as they aim to lower the age profile of the squad.
