Steve Bruce says he had no choice but to hold back some of his squad for Tuesday night’s must-win clash against Sheffield United in the Premier League.
Bruce also only used his captain Jamaal Lascelles for 45 minutes at the Emirates Stadium.
With cup hopes in both domestic competitions now up in smoke for another season, United must focus on staying up and their challenge to move away from 15th spot starts at Bramall Lane next week.
Bruce left Callum Wilson, Jonjo Shelvey and Jamal Lewis out of his line-up as a precautionary measure and said after the game: "Jamaal Lascelles came off because of fatigue.
“With all the problems we've got, we left a few at home and hopefully they'll be ready for Tuesday and we can freshen up the team."
One of the big positives of the night was the debut of Elliot Anderson with the 18-year-old giving his all after coming on as sub.
Bruce said: "I thought the kid was very, very good. He's been knocking on the door for a while now so it was good to see.
“He's got a big future ahead of him."
The game ultimately boiled down to Andy Carroll’s late miss. Bruce reflected: “When you come here, especially in a cup tie, and are presented with the opportunities that we had then you hope we can take one.
“I couldn't be more pleased with how they've gone about it but we needed to take that big opportunity when it came."
