Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has revealed that he withdrew Pedro at half time of his side's goalless draw with Arsenal at Stamford Bridge this afternoon due to an ankle injury.
The Spaniard endured a mixed opening 45 minutes as Chelsea struggled to assert their authority on their London rivals, and he did not emerge for the second half as Tiemoue Bakayoko came on in his place.
However, Conte insists that the decision to take Pedro off was not down to his performance, but rather a knock that the forward had sustained during the first half.
"He was a bit injured because he got a kick on his ankle. I changed things to put more balance in the midfield," he told reporters.
The draw ends Chelsea's four-match winning streak across all competitions and sees them fall three points behind the Manchester clubs at the top of the table.
