Unai Emery explains half-time withdrawal of Matteo Guendouzi | OneFootball

First-year Arsenal manager Unai Emery defended French midfielder Matteo Guendouzi despite pulling him.

The 19-year-old Guendouzi has adjusted to life in the Premier League quickly after joining the Gunners from Lorient of Ligue 2.

After 45 minutes of his fifth consecutive league start, Guendouzi was removed in order to address the team’s “balance”.

Emery made the substitution to replace one summer signing with another, bringing on Lucas Torreira. The 22-year-old Uruguayan signed for Arsenal from Italian side Sampdoria.

“I want to give every player confidence. I am very happy with Matteo and also very happy with Lucas,” Emery told media after the match.

Whether directly related to the personnel swap, Arsenal sparked to life with two goals within 15 minutes of the intermission.

“Maybe in the second half we needed a little more balance on the pitch with the positioning,” the Spanish manager continued. “Lucas gives us this balance.”

Emery has already shown he is willing to act decisively to address team issues and his tinkering came to good effect against Newcastle United on Saturday.

The manager is expected to rotate his squad for the opening game of Arsenal’s Europa League campaign on Thursday. The Gunners host FC Vorskla of Ukraine at the Emirates and several of the team’s more irregular faces could see the field.