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Arsene Wenger: Why I took Olivier Giroud off in Arsenal's clash with Chelsea
ARSENE WENGER revealed he chose to take Oliver Giroud off after Per Mertesacker's red card because Arsenal needed pace on the counter-attack.
Olivier Giroud was taken off after Per Mertesacker's red card
Arsenal never recovered after Mertesacker was given a red card for hauling down Diego Costa in the 18th-minute as the striker raced clear.
Costa scored the decisive goal five minutes later, turning in Branislav Ivanovic's cross at the near post to make it nine Premier League games without defeat for Chelsea against Arsenal.
But Arsenal's potency suffered after Wenger decided to replace Giroud and introduce defender Gabriel to compensate for Mertesacker's dismissal, a decision which the crowd did not agree with.
And Wenger revealed he had to take off Giroud to leave the Gunners with some pace in attack.