Mikel Arteta has hailed the impact of Arsenal’s ‘clinical’ substitutes after his side’s 2-0 win at Athletic Bilbao.Arsenal opened their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 win at The San Mames Stadium, as substitutes Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard scored second-half goals in Spain.With the game goalless, Arteta looked to his bench and was rewarded. Martinelli’s opener arrived just 36 seconds after his introduction, as the Brazilian combined with fellow substitute Trossard to put Arsenal ahead. The same duo combined again for the second, as Arsenal sealed the points three minutes from time.Arteta praised the impact of the forward pair, as Arsenal’s improved depth helped the Gunners to an important three points.“Something that we always discuss is that the finishers have to impact the game, and Gabi and Leo came on to make the difference for the team,” Arteta said post-match.“They was outstanding and the rest of the team as well. In many moments, they were at a very good level.“When someone is able to win the game in those actions and be so clinical, it’s exactly what we need because the threat can come from different ways and different players. I’m very pleased with that.“It means that [Gabi and Leo] are connected and they feel that they are really, really important. We have discussed that a lot. We’re going to need that. Piero [Hincapie] comes in and plays five minutes and so does Christian [Norgaard] and it’s the best five minutes of their lives. That’s the spirit that we need amongst the squad. If we have everybody at that level, we’ll win a lot of games.”Read – Champions League: Five youngsters to look out for this seasonSee more – The five favourites to win the 2025/26 Champions LeagueFollow The Football Faithful on Social Media:Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | TikTokThe post Arteta hails impact of clinical Arsenal substitutes first appeared on The Football Faithful.