Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has revealed that he planned to substitute Dani Ceballos minutes before his red card against Villarreal. Arteta admitted that he had warned Ceballos about being careful during his half time team talk, before confirming that he was minutes away from substituting the on-loan Real Madrid man for Gabriel Martinelli.
Mikel Arteta said: “We talked at half time that we have to be careful. I was going to take him [Ceballos] off and by the time Gabi [Martinelli] was ready to come on, that action happened and he was out.”
Ceballos will now be suspended for the return leg with Arsenal facing a Premier League match against Newcastle on Sunday, before hosting Villarreal at Emirates Stadium on Thursday.
