Mikel Arteta conceded that his tactical adjustment following Ben White's first-half injury against West Ham did not go as planned, but Arsenal managed to secure a crucial 1-0 victory at the London Stadium on Sunday evening. The win was sealed after a late equaliser by Callum Wilson was ruled out by VAR, sparking debate and relief for the Gunners.
Arteta's tactical reshuffle
White was forced off after a collision with Crysencio Summerville, prompting Arteta to bring on Martin Zubimendi and shift Declan Rice to right-back until half-time. At the break, Arteta replaced left-back Riccardo Calafiori with Cristhian Mosquera, moving Mosquera to right-back and Myles Lewis-Skelly from midfield to left-back, returning Rice to midfield. In the second half, he substituted Zubimendi and Eberechi Eze for Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz.
Speaking after the match, Arteta admitted the initial move to play Rice at right-back was a mistake that cost him a substitution. "We were so dominant, but bringing on Mosquera was going to give us something different. I went for Declan, and in that moment, there were two actions where we suffered a little bit on that side," he told Sky Sports. "At half-time, we had to make another change because Ricky had to come off. I felt we needed two attacking midfielders in those pockets, so we went for it and got rewarded."
VAR controversy
The decisive moment came in the 95th minute when Wilson's equaliser was disallowed after a VAR review deemed that Pablo had fouled Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya. Arteta praised the officials for their courage. "In the end, this is the beauty of the Premier League. In all this chaos, the referee and VAR had a lot of courage to stop and analyse the action," he said. "Nobody would disagree it was a clear foul because David had the ball almost in his hands."
Leandro Trossard's deflected strike proved to be the winner, keeping Arsenal on course for the title. Arteta also highlighted David Raya's save in the 70th minute to deny Mateus Fernandes as a key moment. The win leaves Arsenal in a strong position as the season enters its final stages.
