Arsenal

Arsenal

Premier League • England

Mikel Arteta urged to drop struggling Arsenal star for ‘impact’ attacker ahead of Man City showdown

Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard, Arsenal, October 2022

Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard, Arsenal, October 2022

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been urged to drop Gabriel Martinelli for Wednesday evening’s crunch clash with Manchester City at The Emirates.

The Gunners have led the way in the Premier League this season but are going through a bit of an indifferent patch, losing to Everton last weekend before only drawing with London rivals Brentford on Saturday.

However, City have not exactly been firing on all cylinders but can still move to move within three points of Arsenal if they beat Aston Villa on Sunday.

Arteta will certainly be hoping that his men can rediscover their top form when they tackle the club where he used to be assistant to Pep Guardiola.

But the Gunners chief has been given something to think about by Leandro Trossard after the Belgian made an impact from the bench against the Bees.

The former Brighton man scored the opening goal before Ivan Toney converted Brentford’s hugely controversial equaliser.

And ahead of the City clash, former Premier League keeper Shaka Hislop has urged Arteta to drop Martinelli for the January signing.

Hislop told ESPN: “I don’t think Gabriel Martinelli has been great lately. When he has come on, Leandro Trossard has had an impact.

“So if you’re Arteta, I think the time is right to think: ‘Well, do I now play Trossard from the very start?’

“Now, Martinelli is quick, and defences coming up against that kind of pace, you have to adjust just for that pure speed that Martinelli brings. But he hasn’t had much of an impact. He’s not been playing well and is struggling a bit.

“So the easy change I think given the form of Trossard, given the fact that he’s finally got on the scoresheet for Arsenal, is that you have to play him from the very start.”

Trossard earns plaudits from Arteta

Arteta actually singled out Trossard for praise after the draw, telling reporters: “We need people who make an impact in the game. And he has been really good since he joined.

“He scored his first Arsenal goal and it is a really valuable one. He is a player who is going to give us a lot.”

As for his side’s struggles in recent outings, Arteta added: “Everybody is suffering to win games.

“Games are won in margins in this league and when you take the margins away it becomes really difficult. The team had a really strong performance again today but we didn’t get the three points.

“The supporters were brilliant. The energy and passion they put into the game was superb. We have a big game coming up. In the next five or six days we play two games so it is a big week for us.”

READ MORE: Edu makes striker ‘enquiry’ as Arsenal burst into frame for Chelsea, West Ham-linked Brazilian