Unai Emery found himself on the end of criticism once again in midweek following the bemusing decision to substitute Mesut Ozil in Arsenal's thrilling defeat to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup.
The manager has opted not to play Ozil in the majority of games so far this season, instead prioritising a midfield with more combative, defensive traits in a bid to offer stability to a shaky back-four.
Emery explains Ozil substitution after backlash
The German was hugely influential for the Gunners, playing a hand in two of their five goals, displaying good awareness to pick out his teammates and capitalise on lapses in judgement across Jurgen Klopp's side.
It marked only his third start of the season, with question marks raised as to why he has been out of contention with Unai Emery thus far despite possessing the quality and creativity to make a real difference in Arsenal's midfield.
Substituted after 65 minutes with the score at 4-4, Emery's decision to bring on the more defensive minded Matteo Guendouzi for the playmaker received plenty of backlash from fans after the match, but Emery has insisted the swap was pre-planned to prevent fatigue.
"We decided before the game to only play him for that amount of time. I think in that moment it is good to make that decision as we were calm and he did the work very well and we decided it was better to rest him."
"He played as we want, with experience and his skill to help the team. He worked really well for 65 minutes."
Emery drops hint that Ozil may feature vs Wolves
Emery went on to hint that Ozil could be involved at the weekend against Wolves, with the German hopeful of getting a run of games in the side in a bid to get his season back on track.
"In my mind is the possibility to use him again [in the Premier League]. We have a match on Saturday and we will look at the possibility to use him again alongside other players and this is the way sometimes."
Having managed just one point over their last two games against Sheffield United and Crystal Palace, Arsenal will be desperate for a response at the weekend to give their top-four challenge a much needed boost.