0/5 duels, 0 dribbles, 11x possession lost: 34-touch Arsenal star struggles again on Int’l duty, Arteta must drop him vs Fulham
Arsenal return to Premier League action against Fulham at Craven Cottage next weekend.
Ahead of the game, there could be a couple of changes to the starting line-up.
Martin Zubimendi will obviously be reinstated in the heart of the midfield, having started as a substitute during the 2-0 win over West Ham United before the international break.
In our view, Leandro Trossard should be dropped to the bench amid his average form for club and country. The Belgian has not made a goal contribution in the last three outings at Arsenal.
His struggles continued with Belgium yesterday. The Red Devils registered a frustrating goalless draw against North Macedonia in a World Cup qualifier at the Ghelamco Arena.
Trossard was handed the opportunity to lead the line, but was pretty wasteful with his 34 touches. The 30-year-old had four scoring attempts, but none of those were on target to test the goalkeeper.
He lost possession on 11 occasions and did not win a single duel (0/5). Trossard likewise failed to complete a single take-on (0/2) and could not register an accurate cross (0/2).
Trossard has been a superb impact player off the bench for the Gunners over recent years, but he has failed to perform at the same level when picked as a starter, especially in the league.
We believe the Belgian should drop to the bench for the London derby at Fulham. Gabriel Martinelli should be reinstated on the left wing on the back of key goal contributions for the club.
He came off the bench to break the deadlock in the 2-0 Champions League win at Athletic before providing an assist for Trossard. The Brazilian repeated the feat with a dramatic late equaliser against Manchester City in the Premier League.
Martinelli went on to score against Olympiacos in Europe, and it was quite a surprise that he did not make the XI versus West Ham. It appears a no-brainer decision to reinstate the Brazilian into the starting XI against Marco Silva’s side on the road.
