Mikel Arteta now has one selection dilemma heading into Arsenal’s match against Brighton. Gabriel Martinelli, or Leandro Trossard? Who does he start with? I realise it’s just Match Day 2, but Martinelli hasn’t been able to replicate his attacking efficiency from the 2022–23 season, as he did in several games last season.
Last week, Troy Deeney advised him to keep things simple, but can we afford to be patient and wait for him to rediscover his mojo? While battling for a starting berth with Trossard, Martinelli may end up seeming favoured, always starting, given the Belgian international’s ability to capitalise on his opportunities.
Arsenal relies on Trossard to make the difference, as we saw against Villa and even last season. When Arsenal find themselves in a bind, Leandro Trossard unexpectedly makes an appearance and scores to save the day.
Two minutes after his substitution on Saturday night, the ex-Brighton star showed off his excellent finishing ability by scoring with his first touch, pouncing on a loose ball inside the box, and shooting to the bottom right corner past Emi Martinez to break the deadlock.
That goal completely transformed the game, and Arsenal added the second a few minutes later to demonstrate how valuable Trossard is.
Arteta said about Trossard starting on the bench yesterday: “We have two great left-wingers and on top of that Reiss can play in that position. It’s always a challenge but you know that you’re going to get the quality for certain specific games and what we expected today I decided to play Gabyy (Martinelli) and he had a good performance, and when I thought we had to change the game because he was taking a different route he (Trossard) came on and made a difference”.
But has Trossard earned his spot in Arteta’s starting lineup after his impressive cameo against Villa? Well, I would have responded yes, but I’ve seen numerous games where Trossard started and had a terrible game on our left side. Trossard, in my opinion, performs best as a substitute when opponents are exhausted. So he was just doing what he does best, which Arteta is aware of, versus Villa.
Martinelli is a terrific player, and his overall play is excellent; he simply lacks the confidence to influence the final third as much as he should. It should not be surprising to see him retained in his starting lineup to help him gain confidence.
Some argue that the Brazilian’s attacking struggles are because he lacks perfect support due to the absence of a true LCM and frequent changes at left-back; however, Arteta’s integration of Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori in his line-up will be the true test of his abilities.
That being said, I believe Leandro Trossard is more of a super-sub than a starter, and starting him over Martinelli may be a gamble. How confident are you that you’ll introduce Martinelli, and he’ll offer you what the Belgian international does off the bench? Give Martinelli a chance, allow the LHS to improve with the recruits as anticipated, and then assess his performance.
Jack Anderson