Danny Murphy has hailed the “ruthless” management of Mikel Arteta after Arsenal’s dramatic comeback win over Bournemouth on Saturday.
The Gunners came from two goals down to retain their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League, with Reiss Nelson scoring the 97th-minute winner.
And Murphy was impressed with Arteta’s decision to take off both Takehiro Tomiyasu and Emile Smith Rowe, with their replacements – Ben White and Nelson – proving to be the game-changers.
Murphy said: “He [Arteta] made two substitutions today that were ruthless. Tomiyasu at half time for not playing particularly well. Ben White came on and scored the goal.
“He brings Emile Smith Rowe off who had already come on as a sub, to sub a sub, to bring Reiss Nelson on, not thinking really about the player and the effect.
“He is thinking, ‘This is what we need for the team’. And I thought that was a brilliant bit of management.”
Arteta said after the game that the win over Bournemouth is going “to stick with them” during what is bound to be a tense run-in.
“It was madness from the first second. We kept trying and dominating the game. We had a mountain to climb and we took it bit by bit,” Arteta told Match of the Day.
“We had the hunger to go for the first goal. From then the atmosphere changed. Reiss Nelson hasn’t featured much because he has been injured. He comes on and puts in that performance. It was incredible to experience the emotion with the crowd. It’s going to stick with us.
“I am going to remember this day for a few things. I loved the initiative, the courage, their personality and the way they made things happen.
“When its ugly and when its difficult, that’s what big teams do. We have to make it easier for ourselves. But this is the Premier League.
“The opponents are good and they make it hard for you. Now we have the Europa League – many games coming up. We’re going to need everyone at their best.”
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