Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta produced a lengthy explanation behind his decision to bring on Willian against Benfica on Thursday night.
The Gunners boss raised eyebrows by bringing on Willian, who has been out of sorts this season, when he was chasing the game against the Portuguese side.
Arsenal were staring at the prospect of being dumped out of the Europa League after Benfica took a 2-1 lead on the night.
It seemed a bizarre change when he hauled off Emile Smith Rowe for Willian, but the move paid off.
The Brazilian winger played a role as Kieran Tierney fired in an equaliser, before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sealed a late winner.
And speaking afterwards, Arteta discussed the decision behind wanting to bring on Willian instead of either Nicolas Pepe or Gabriel Martinelli.
The two exciting wingers were both left on the bench as Willian was given minutes, despite having failed to find the net during his Arsenal career.
Arteta insisted the decision was made because of the desire to unpick the defence in tight situations.
He expressed that it wasn't a knock against either Pepe or Martinelli, but suggested that their pace wouldn't have been any use to Arsenal considering Benfica's shape.
Arteta said: "Because there wasn’t much space to run in behind.
"It was a really tight two lines of 4-4-1 or 5-3-2 at times.
"They were a really low block not much space to run apart from when they set the line around the 18-yard box.
"So you need people to unlock that special qualities in tight spaces to create moments and I think Willy he was really helpful tonight."
Arsenal will now face Olympiacos in the round of 16 after Friday's draw.
