Arsene Wenger defends Olivier Giroud substitution

Arsene Wenger has remained defiant about his decision to substitute off Olivier Giroud 22 minutes into Arsenal's 1-0 defeat to Chelsea on Sunday.

The striker was visibly frustrated at being taken off minutes after Per Mertesacker saw red for a challenge on Diego Costa, while large sections of the home crowd at the Emirates booed as Wenger brought him off for Gabriel.

"You want to make a poll for every decision to see who does what?" an angry Wenger told reporters of the substitution. "I made the decision and for me it was quite normal. We had to go for long distances and we needed pace to go from one goal to the other. We knew we had to drop deeper and use pace to get forward."

Giroud had been a doubt for the match after suffering an ankle injury and missed training on Saturday, a factor that Wenger said had influenced his decision.

"It was a bit in my mind if he gets injured, with his ankle, he was a doubt, he didn't practise yesterday and today we declared him fit," he added. "It was on my mind. But I had to change a player and I thought that was the most rational decision with all the factors."

The defeat saw Arsenal miss the opportunity to go back to the top of the Premier League table.