Roberto De Zerbi’s assertion that he should have taken off Joao Pedro earlier at Brentford was very honest from the head coach.

But is it a case of working with the benefit of hindsight?

Of course, the reason Premier League coaches are well rewarded is to have foresight as good as our hindsight.

To work things out ahead of the game that the laymen only see later.

De Zerbi said after the Arsenal game that Joao Pedro had only played a minor part because he went the full distance at Brentford last Wednesday.

The level of his participation against the Gunners was a doubt right up until matchday and he did a fitness test about two hours before kick-off.

When he walked off with what looked like a consoling arm around his shoulder from Andrea Maldera, one feared bad news. It has been that sort of season.

So it was actually a relief to see his name among the substitutes.

If the body language was one of disappointment, it must therefore have been purely because he could not start the game.

The exertions at Brentford after a two-month absence decided that.

But, when you spin the wheel, it’s a fine line between an error of judgement and a masterstroke and De Zerbi was right to put his eggs in the Brentford basket when you look at the three games.

Fair enough to criticise if he had kept Joao Pedro on when the game was decided.

Maybe if Albion had been 2-0 up or 2-0 down.

But they really needed a win from the three games last week and the period across all 270 minutes when that opportunity really beckoned was going into the final stages at the Gtech.

Joao Pedro was at his best that night when Danny Welbeck went on ahead of him from the 74th minute.

So what looked like an error of judgement in hindsight would have been a masterstroke had Welbeck not been denied by a goal-saving tackle when Joao Pedro cleverly slid him through towards the Bees goal.

Or had Welbeck headed in from that corner the Brazilian was instrumental in forcing before turning to the away section and looking to whip up more noise.

And sometimes it is the substitution which isn’t made which is the right one.

We have seen that with Kaoru Mitoma and Leandro Trossard in the past.

Yes, the fact Joao Pedro stayed on for so long at Brentford was a surprise.

That was why the question put to De Zerbi by The Argus after the game was worded as it was: “Did you get more than you expected from Joao Pedro?”

Now Albion look back on a week which brought one point from a possible nine.

It is haul which has deflated fans and has seen their team slip to tenth place.

It is still very tight. Chelsea failed to take full advantage, with their late concessions to Burnley and Sheffield United costing them four points compared to the three they rescued against Manchester United.

At the same time, keep it in perspective.

Shown those three fixtures in isolation – Liverpool away, Brentford away, Arsenal at home – results of defeat, draw, defeat would seem maybe par, certainly not disastrous.

Put them together across seven days and it feels like a poor week.

Why it hurts, of course, is that games which might have been seen as win, win, win, have ended in draws.

One of those was at home to Burnley, where Albion go next knowing they really need to stage a strong finish to the season if they are to play in Europe next season.

Joao Pedro will have a week to get ready for that.

We await De Zerbi’s next injury bulletin, likely to be on Friday afternoon, with the customary sense of slight trepidation.

He has occasionally brought us bad news out of the blue, the most recent example being about Billy Gilmour.

But Albion were within one goal-saving tackle, one wayward header, of beating Brentford thanks to Joao Pedro staying on the pitch.

Would they have beaten Arsenal had he played an hour rather than 30 minutes?

We will never know but it feels less likely.

If there was concern over Joao Pedro, maybe Albion could have cancelled the substitution when Arsenal scored their second goal while he waited to go on.

But, again, that is hindsight talking. In the moment, it still felt like there might be a way back.

Brentford was the best chance of three points last week, especially the way the match developed in the second half.

That was why, so long as he did not risk serious injury, it felt understandable that Joao Pedro stayed on.

As De Zerbi often tells us in press conferences if we query his selections, it is easy to pick the right team after the game.