Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown believes Unai Emery was wrong to substitute Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the 3-1 defeat to Rennes last night.

The Gunners were already down to ten men after Sokratis Papastathopoulos received two yellow cards in the first half.

However, Emery decided that Aubameyang should be substituted on 79 minutes, with the score at 2-1. Keown thinks playing without a striker for the last ten minutes cost the team:

“It seemed to me that the decisions Emery made just didn’t work. I don’t know why he took off Aubameyang and tried to play without a striker. As the team with 10 men, I thought he would be the man you would want to have on the counter.”

Aubameyang was clearly not happy when he was taken off, and the decision was put under the microscope, even more, when Ismaila Sarr headed Rennes into a 3-1 lead two minutes from time.

Of course, Arsenal still have the second leg to recover their position in the tie. Alex Iwobi’s away goal means they won’t have a mountain to climb at the Emirates next Thursday.

Still, they would have preferred to be in a much more comfortable position, especially as they have a crucial game against Manchester United before the return fixture.