Mikel Arteta has been urged to be more proactive in freshening up his Arsenal team after suffering a mini-slump in their bid to win the Premier League title.
Two draws away from home in a row, having led both Liverpool and West Ham by two goals to nil, have left the door open for Manchester City to swoop in and claim the trophy.
Former Gunners midfielder Emmanuel Petit has outlined why Arteta deserves his share of blame for the dropped points, having decided against rotating his line-up or making earlier substitutions.
The Arsenal manager waited until the 80th minute to make a change at Liverpool and the 67th minute at West Ham, by which time Jarrod Bowen had levelled the score, with Petit hoping to see more of Leandro Trossard.
“Recently yes, I think it was the same against Liverpool,” he told LegalSportsBook when asked if Arteta has been at fault.
“He took some time to make substitutions and some players should have been involved earlier.
“The likes of Trossard for example, who I think has been brilliant since he signed for Arsenal. He has his first XI in his mind and he wants to stay with them until the end because he thinks they have been unbelievable since the beginning of the season.
“He’s probably thinking, ‘Why should I change them?’ Because they were winning game after game.
“I can understand, but in the meantime, as he’s such a young manager, maybe he has to learn as well from that.”
Trossard, a £27million January signing from Brighton, has one goal and seven assists for Arsenal since his arrival.
Furthermore, the Gunners have won all six Premier League games he has started.
Next up for Arteta is the visit of Southampton on Friday night before a trip to the Etihad Stadium in a crucial title showdown the following midweek.
