Per Mertesacker's red card meant forced Wenger to substitute Giroud in the first half - but the Gunners boss has attempted to justify his decision
Arsene Wenger insists it was a “normal” decision to substitute Olivier Giroud following Per Mertesacker’s red card in Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to Chelsea.
Mertesacker was sent off in the first half for his last-man challenge on Diego Costa before Wenger made the decision to bring off the French striker for Gabriel.
Costa’s strike secured victory for Chelsea, but Wenger, whose decision to substitute Giroud was jeered by the Arsenal fans, has explained his reasoning.
“Do you want to make a poll for every decision to see who does what?” said Wenger.
“For me it was a quite normal decision because we needed pace to go from one goal to another. We needed space to get forward.
“It was a bit in my mind that he could get injured as well. His ankle was a doubt and he didn’t train yesterday, of course it was on my mind.”
- Goal