Arsenal boss, Mikel Arteta has defended selecting debutant goalkeeper Karl Hein as the Gunners crashed out of the Carabao Cup third round against Brighton on Wednesday night at Emirates.
Arsenal opened the scoring through Eddie Nketiah before Brighton hit back with three goals from Danny Welbeck, Tariq Lamptey and Kaoru Mitoma to eliminate Arteta’s side from the Carabao Cup.
Arteta made ten changes from Arsenal’s last game, most notably handing Hein his debut ahead of the club’s second-choice goalkeeper Matt Turner who was left on the bench.
Arteta’s decision proved very costly as the 20-year-old Estonian slipped while trying to collect the ball, subsequently fouling Welbeck and giving away a penalty, which the Brighton striker converted.
Speaking during his post-match press conference, Arteta was asked over his choice to select the inexperienced Hein, but the Spaniard defended his decision, insisting that the youngster deserves a chance.
Arteta said:
“I think he [Karl Hein] deserves the chance. He’s the first goalie of the national team and at his age, that’s not usual.
“If I have to play him tomorrow again, I will. Errors are part of football.”
