Gabriel Martinelli was left out of an Arsenal starting XI in the Premier League for the first time this season with January arrival Leandro Trossard preferred to him against Aston Villa. The Brazilian has gradually seen his minutes reduced with Trossard coming on for several bright cameos and for the clash at Villa Park, Mikel Arteta opted to hand the Belgian his first start.
A blistering start to the campaign for Martinelli, with three goals in his first five games, gradually began to slow and prior to the clash against Villa, the Brazilian international had gone six games without a goal. His dip in from in front of goal gave Trossard the chance to impress after he scored his first Arsenal goal in the 1-1 draw against Brentford.
The versatile attacker signed from Brighton had some bright moments in Birmingham but was mostly anonymous before being replaced with 22 minutes to go with the game level at 2-2.
