Karen Carney has admitted to BT Sport that she was shocked that Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta did not take Emile Smith Rowe off sooner against Slavia Prague last night.
Arsenal effectively had the game wrapped up in the first-half yesterday, after racing into a 3-0 lead before the half-hour mark.
It was then felt that Arteta may not risk his players, as Arsenal were in the luxurious position of being able to cruise into the next round.
Smith Rowe has become such an integral player to Arsenal over the second-half of the season, but he is only just coming back from an injury.
And Carney was surprised that he played on for so long, as he was withdrawn in the 67th minute.
“We were surprised he didn’t go off a bit earlier, given how much of an influence he is to the team and his injury status recently. We were thinking please protect him and get him off,” the pundit said.
Arteta clearly just wasn’t prepared to take any chances, in what was Arsenal’s biggest game of the season so far.
His decision was vindicated as Smith Rowe came through the game without any injury problems, and Slavia never threatened to make a comeback.
Arsenal are next in action against Fulham at the weekend, when Smith Rowe may be given a chance to take time off.
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