"It's actually quite mad" - Michail Antonio left surprised by Mikel Arteta's decision in Arsenal's 5-0 win over Chelsea

West Ham United striker Michail Antonio expressed his surprise at Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta's decision to substitute Kai Havertz in the second half against Chelsea when the German forward had scored two goals.

The Gunners hosted Mauricio Pochettino's Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on April 23 (Tuesday). Leandro Trossard gave Arsenal an early lead by scoring in the fourth minute.

In the second half, Ben White scored the second goal of the evening (52') and Kai Havertz scored twice in just eight minutes (57', 65') to give his side a four-goal cushion. White added the fifth in the 70th minute.

In the 72nd minute, Mikel Arteta substituted Havertz and introduced Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus into the playing XI.

Surprised by Arteta's decision to substitute Havertz, West Ham United striker Michail Antonio stated that the 24-year-old shouldn't have been taken off. Antonio and Tom Cairney agreed on The Footballer's Football podcast that the Spanish manager would have given the German forward a chance to complete his hat-trick.

"Are you raging if he takes you off on two goals in your pocket against your former team?" Tom Cairney said.

"One hundred, million percent," Michail Antonio replied.

"I was like I cannot believe he's just taken him off. There's like 15 minutes left as well," Cairney added.

"It's actually quite mad. I don't care who it is. If I've got two goals, don't take me off," Antonio concluded.

The Gunners are currently in the first spot in the Premier League with 77 points from 34 matches. Next up, they will face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday (April 28).

Arsenal eyeing multiple midfielders ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window - Reports

Mikel Arteta's Arsenal are monitoring several midfielders as they might face difficulties in signing Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi in the upcoming summer transfer window, as per the Standard.

Arsenal are keen to sign at least one midfielder this summer. As a result, they're keeping a close eye on Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes and Aston Villa's Douglas Luiz. As per the aforementioned report, Barcelona and Bayern Munich are also interested in signing Martin Zubimendi.

The 25-year-old wants to stay at Real Sociedad, but reports claim he also wants to play under Xabi Alonso, who guided Bayer Leverkusen to their maiden Bundesliga title recently. Zubimendi worked with Alonso during the Spanish tactician's time with Real Sociedad B.