Ian Wright ‘very disappointed’ and ‘confused’ by bold Mikel Arteta decision in Arsenal vs Liverpool clash

IAN WRIGHT admitted that he was “confused” when Mikel Arteta substituted Gabriel Martinelli against Liverpool.

The Brazilian scored the Gunners’ second goal of the match at the Emirates as they won 3-1.

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Ian Wright did not agree with one Mikel Arteta decision against Liverpool[/caption]

Reuters

The Spaniard substituted goalscorer Gabriel Martinelli[/caption]

Reuters

Leandro Trossard came on in the attacker’s place and scored[/caption]

However, it was not enough to convince the manager that he needed to finish the match against Liverpool.

Arteta replaced Martinelli with Leandro Trossard and the move proved to be a masterstroke.

The Belgian netted the hosts’ third goal of the game to seal all three points against Jurgen Klopp‘s side.

Wright, 60, claimed that he was “surprised” at the decision but did admit to having “humble pie” after Trossard’s impact.

He told Premier League Productions: “I was very surprised and confused.

“But then Trossard scored so then I had to eat my words a bit.

“Humble pie is at the house waiting to go.”

Wright interviewed Martinelli after the match and asked him how he felt being hauled off the pitch.

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He said: “I was very disappointed to see you go off, Gabi.

“Obviously, we won the game in the end, how did you feel when you came off? You looked very disappointed.

Martinelli replied: “You know how an attacking player feels when they go to the bench, and also I didn’t want to come off, it’s normal.

“We always want to be on the pitch and help the team, even more in a game like that, I know you understand me.”

Wright went on to suggest that the wide forward needs to be “getting beyond” the defence more in matches.

He added: “What we want from Martinelli is getting beyond. I didn’t think we were getting enough of that.

“Like I said, I was very confused by the substitution simply because he was doing so well and he was the one who breaks them.

“It was exactly what was needed, simply because you just felt that even with ten men there will be a nervousness and you need that second goal.

“As the manager said, we have been creating chances but not taking them too many times but if we can take those chances we can be comfortable in the game and that’s what happened in the end.”

Martinelli’s goal came from a bit of fortune after mistakes by Alisson and Virgil van Dijk.

It was not the only defensive howler in the match as Gabriel Magalhaes put through his own net earlier in the match.

The win for Arsenal saw them close the gap on Liverpool at the top of the table to just two points.

The players enjoyed their celebrations as Martin Odegaard was spotted swapping roles with club photographer Stuart MacFarlane.

Jamie Carragher was not impressed with the Norwegian and suggested that he should just “get down the tunnel”.

Ex-Premier League star Jan Aage Fjortoft supported Odegaard as he responded to Carragher by saying that the midfielder should be allowed to “show passion”.

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