Arsenal manager, Unai Emery, has said injuries to other players, prevented him from bringing on Alexandre Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe, as they lost 2-1 to Frankfurt in the Europa League on Thursday night.
The result meant the Gunners missed out on the chance to qualify for the knockout stages with a game to spare.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gave the hosts the lead just before half-time. But a second-half brace from Daichi Kamada ensured Frankfurt left north London with three points.
David Luiz, playing as a defensive midfielder, went off after 31 minutes while Arsenal's third and final sub saw Lucas Torreira replacing Shkodran Mustafi.
Asked why Lacazette and Pepe remained on the bench for the entire match, Emery told BT Sport: "We had some injuries.
"We needed to change David Luiz and then we had a problem with Mustafi. Two injuries meant we had to make those changes."
Comments