Mikel Arteta has admitted that his tactical reshuffle following Ben White's first-half injury did not work out as planned, but Arsenal still secured a crucial 1-0 win over West Ham at the London Stadium on Sunday.
Leandro Trossard's deflected strike proved decisive after Callum Wilson's stoppage-time equaliser was ruled out by VAR for a foul on goalkeeper David Raya. Arteta was forced into changes when White limped off, initially moving Declan Rice to right-back before half-time, then shifting Cristhian Mosquera to that role after the break.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Arteta said: 'We were so dominant... bringing on Mosquera was going to give us something different so I went for Declan and in that moment... there were two actions where we suffered a little bit on that side.' He later told Match of the Day: 'It doesn't really work out and half-time we have to change Calafiori as well... it's not ideal.'
Arteta praised the courage of his players and the impact of substitute Martin Odegaard, who created the winning goal. He also commended the referee and VAR for having 'a lot of courage' in disallowing West Ham's late equaliser, stating: 'I think nobody would disagree that it is a clear foul.'
