Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta played down Gabriel Maghalaes' absence from the starting XI for victory at Crystal Palace.

Gabriel eventually came on Monday night amid talk of interest from Real Madrid.

Asked if the two issues were connected, Arteta insisted: "Nothing at all, it's about games that we were expecting, how we were going to defend and attack and what I believe is the best thing.

"He's played in both games and helped us to win both games for different reasons. He was really good today, he absolutely dominated the box when he came on and he's going to play a lot of games.

"That's the decision sometimes."