Aaron Ramsey

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has revealed that midfielder Aaron Ramsey has personally asked to be substituted during the backend of the Premier League clash against Newcastle United. The north London club secured their third-straight league win after outclassing the Magpies by a 2-1 score but Ramsey could not last the whole game as he was subbed in the 80th minute.

Speaking after the clash, Emery appeared to blame Wales boss Ryan Giggs for using Aaron Ramsey for the entire 90 minutes of both Nations League games and suggested that had played a role in the fatigue experienced by the midfielder, he said: “He played with the national team too much, today he played 80 minutes and he asked to change. It was not a big problem, but he was tired to continue. I think it’s no problem.”

Meanwhile, Emery admitted that he could make changes for the upcoming Europa League opener against Ukrainians Vorskla, though he would still want a strong performance on the night, he added: “Yes, normally we are going to change and use a lot of players for different competitions. But I am only thinking about the best performance for Thursday. Every competition for me I have respect for and want to do the best for.”

“ Summer signings Bernd Leno, Lucas Torreira and Stephan Lichtsteiner should all make their maiden Gunners starts on “ Thursday night but the game could be most defining for the former, who has sat on the bench since the season begun. Much was expected of“Leno after making the “ switch from Bayer Leverkusen in June but he has since not made a competitive appearance with Petr Cech favoured for the Premier League duties.

Nonetheless, Leno should make his bow against Vorskla in midweek and hopefully, he can put in a solid performance which may encourage Emery to consider him for Premier League action. Leno has been previously reported to have made a blunder during a pre-season game against Brentford and this may have influenced Emery’s decision to stick with Cech for the number one role.