Mikel Arteta believes Eberechi Eze was left "disappointed" after being dropped for Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Manchester City.
The summer signing was a surprise absentee from the starting line-up at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, with Leandro Trossard and Mikel Merino given the nod ahead of him, even with Bukayo Saka still not fit enough to start.
It was a defensive approach from Arteta, who faced criticism from Sky Sports' pundits Jamie Carragher, Gary Neville and Roy Keane during the game for "leaving the handbrake on" with his team selection against City.
Arteta dismissed those assessments after the game, insisting his team "dominated almost every aspect of the game, apart from the scoreline", and underlined the need to leave some of his so-called "finishers" on the bench depending on the flow of the game.
Eze came on at half-time, along with Saka, and assisted fellow substitute Gabriel Martinelli’s 93rd-minute equaliser.
Arteta spoke of his pride in his players after the game, and noted Eze's likely disappointment.
"It's unbelievable," Arteta said. "Gabi played some great moments and minutes in Bilbao and today, he didn’t start, but he’s got the same energy, the same commitment, the same drive to produce another great moment.
"Ebz [Eze] as well, I'm sure he was disappointed not to start the game, but I knew it was going to be a long match, and there were going to be moments where the game had to be shifted in different ways, and this certainly had a massive impact.
“We needed them. With Noni [Madueke] as well who picked up an injury, Bukayo was ready, and he had some very good moments as well throughout the game, and missing some important players like Gabby, like Kai as well, and some of the players that are still not available, like Martin as well. We need all of the players."
