Mikel Arteta came on in the final 15 minutes of our match against Crystal Palace to make a crucial interception and ultimately deny Lee Chung-Yong from scoring a late equaliser.

Francis Coquelin had previously been substituted off after receiving a yellow card and narrowly escaping red, and our midfield needed bolstering.

The Spaniard explained how his late involvement in our second Premier League clash of the season felt and apparently it’s a completely different feeling to when you start.

“It’s hard when you come [on] like this, when the team is hanging on to try to keep that result, but you need to get there with the highest intensity possible, start making an impact if possible, and it’s a new situation for me,” Arteta explained.

“I’ve never been like this before, a substitute. When you’re sitting on the bench you just have to keep trying to see things happening, where the danger is, and think what can I do if I go on the pitch?”

The 33-year-old continued, “Going from the outside to the inside is very different. Outside, everything looks slower, and when you get in there it’s 100mph so you really need to be ready. You have to warm up really well and when you get there you have to be ready to go straight away.”

It’s fascinating to hear the honest perspective of someone who gets to experience both inside and outside the game, often during the same match. As fans, we obviously only get to view from the outside, which can be hugely frustrating. There must be something quite fulfilling about watching on and then getting to influence play when you come on the pitch.

“I’m feeling really good,” Arteta said. “After a difficult season, when I didn’t play since November 26, eight months is a long time to catch up. All the players are getting applause and you’re getting nothing so you need to work hard to catch up.

Although Arteta is one of our most consistent players, injuries last season meant he missed large portions of it and reintroducing him slowly while Coquelin enjoys a place in the starting 11 can’t hurt.

“I knew that I was starting at a disadvantage compared to everyone else because when you haven’t played you have to start slowly,” Arteta said. “The time will come when hopefully I get my reward.”