Carlo Ancelotti has outlined his reasons for alternating Everton’s goalkeepers.
Wednesday’s win over Leicester City saw Robin Olsen preferred ahead of first-choice stopper Jordan Pickford for only the second occasion this season.
The Sweden international kept a clean sheet after previously deputising for his Blues teammate during last month’s defeat at Newcastle United.
Pickford’s first three years at Goodison Park were spent as Everton’s undisputed no.1 despite several challengers to the position joining the ranks.
But Ancelotti is taking his past experience at Real Madrid, where he rotated Iker Casillas and Diego Lopez, as a guide with his current goalkeeper options.
He said: “I consider a goalkeeper a player.
“As we rotate the defenders and rotate the strikers, sometimes I want to rotate the goalkeepers.
“I started in Real Madrid when I had two great goalkeepers. Lopez and Casillas.
“Casillas was a world champion but he understood. Everyone understood.
“No problem for this. It is less risk to do mistakes. If you stay on the bench, for sure you don’t do mistakes.”
Ancelotti also disputed suggestions that Everton’s ability to keep clean sheets in their previous two games is attributable to James Rodriguez’s absence.
Rodriguez missed the wins over Chelsea and Leicester with a hamstring injury which has also sidelined him for Saturday’s visit of a struggling Arsenal.
“We have three clean sheets, two when James wasn’t there,” said the Everton manager.
“I think the first was the most difficult of the season and we had the clean sheet with James.
“We had the period where we didn’t defend well as a team. Our defensive ability doesn’t depend on if James is there or not.
“It depends on the concentration and that we need to work together, all the midfielders and defenders.”