Arsene Wenger admits he substituted Santi Cazorla as a precaution in their 6-0 victory over Ludogorets on Wednesday night after the Spaniard took a knock to his Achilles.
The Gunners ran riot on Wednesday as goals from Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and a hat-trick from Mesut Ozil mean they lead the way in Group A on seven points.
However, it wasn’t without cost, as Cazorla was hauled off in the 57th-minute immediately after his stunning pass picked out Ozil for his first goal of the evening.
Boom Bam Arsenal!💥😁 Brilliant team performance💪🏼 … & very happy about my first ever hattrick!☺️👍⚽️ #YaGunnersYa #WhatADay #AFCvLUD #UCL pic.twitter.com/FBWRZrCxlr
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) October 19, 2016
The Spain international, who was seen wearing an ice pack on the bench, has been an essential part of the Arsenal side that has now won seven in a row in all competitions.
Cazorla missed most of last season __with a knee injury and Wenger has revealed that he wasn’t taking any chances on Wednesday.
“He got a kick on the back of his Achilles tendon and I took him off as quick as possible,” confirmed Wenger.
“In my view he was limping a little bit so I didn’t want to take a gamble.”