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Mikel Arteta admitted he might have made a mistake in waiting so long to give Myles Lewis-Skelly his first start in Arsenal's midfield.
The 19-year-old has barely featured in the Premier League this season but Arteta threw him in at the deep end against Fulham on Saturday.
Lewis-Skelly came in to replace Martin Zubimendi in midfield and delivered a sensational performance as Arsenal charged to a 3-0 win.
It raised the obvious question of why Arteta has waited so long into the season to give Lewis-Skelly his opportunity, particularly considering how tired Zubimendi has looked over the last few months.
That was put to the Gunners boss after the match, and he responded jokingly: "Because probably I don't have a clue.
"Maybe I should have done it earlier, I don't know. But I have to do things when I believe a player is ready, the team is ready and the opponent is the right one to play with him in that position.
"We've done it today, it was the first time. It was a big risk because I knew what was going to happen. If it works it's great, if we'd have lost the game - 'How do you play a kid at this age in this scenario in a position he hasn't played?'
"I knew that but I had the feeling it was the right game for him."
Big performance: Myles Lewis-Skelly
Lewis-Skelly enjoyed a breakthrough season last term for Arsenal, establishing himself as a regular at left-back.
That included one standout performance at the Santiago Bernabeu against Real Madrid but this start against Fulham was only the third the teenager has made this season in the league.
Arteta had a lengthy embrace with the youngster on the pitch after the match and he hailed Lewis-Skelly's character even in a frustrating season.
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"He fully deserves it," Arteta said.
"I've been tough on him. He has a spectacular season last year when he jumped into the first-team. He had some difficult moments after that but he stayed very humble, very focused, very aligned with what we wanted to do.
"I knew he was ready, he's been showing [that] in training every day, in the opportunities that he had to play he's done it.
"Today he really stepped up and I thought he had an incredible performance."