Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has defended club doctor Gary O'Driscoll's decision to allow David Luiz to play on with a head injury last Sunday.

In the early stages of the Premier League encounter at the Emirates Stadium, the Gunners centre-back was involved in a sickening clash of heads with Wolves striker Raul Jimenez who is currently recovering from an operation on the fractured skull that he sustained in the collision.

The Mexico international was taken off the pitch on a stretcher while Luiz played on after he received seven stitches to the three-inch wound and had his head bandaged up.

"We have one of the leading authorities in the country in Gary O'Driscoll, our doctor, and I'm comfortable with the decision he made (to allow Luiz play on)," Arteta said at the pre-match press conference for their UEFA Europa League tie against Rapid Vienna.

The Brazilian defender was eventually taken off at half-time but the club say that was due to continued bleeding from the wound and the discomfort caused by the bandage.

Arteta went on to suggest that the football authorities bring in a new rule to allow club's to make a temporary replacement, like the one in rugby, so that more time can be taken to see if a player is fit to continue playing after a head knock.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta

"You have to make a decision in one minute and somebody's life is under threat in that minute. Maybe we can give these people a little bit more time and use a temporary substitution, for example," he said.