The Arsenal lineup has been incredibly consistent throughout the campaign with Mikel Arteta rarely deviating from his best XI and only when forced to through injury. However, with the biggest game of the season against Manchester City this Wednesday fast approaching, the Spaniard could be faced with a crucial selection decision.
Gabriel Martinelli’s form has somewhat dipped in recent fixtures and the Brazilian has failed to record a goal or an assist in 2023. His last came against Brighton as Arsenal ran out 4-2 winners on the south coast.
The January transfer window saw the necessary acquisition of Leandro Trossard. Sporting director Edu Gaspar had originally targeted Mykhailo Mudryk but the Gunners were forced to move to the Belgian as Chelsea hijacked the deal with a major financial bid for the Ukrainian.
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Martinelli has maintained his position in the starting selection for the Premier League with Trossard having to make do with cameos from the bench. However, in the 1-1 draw with Brentford this weekend where the Brazilian struggled, Trossard came off the bench to score the breakthrough goal of the game.
Trossard also started the FA Cup clash with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium and looked the most dangerous player in the Arsenal line-up on the evening. His technical ability and two-footedness has hurt City before - the Belgian has a good record of scoring against the league champions from his time at Brighton.
Arteta will need to decide whether to make a change to his trusted starting XI on Wednesday. The Spaniard has made surprising swaps already this campaign against the biggest sides with the most notable being Takehiro Tomiyasu’s inclusion at left-back over Kieran Tierney against Liverpool.
The Japanese defender had a great display against Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah and managed to lock down the left-back role for some time until Oleksandr Zinchenko returned. A good game from Trossard should he start could see him rewarded with the same outcome.
European action is due to return for Arsenal next month and having a competitive squad with players fighting for every position, like their title rivals City possess, is a critical part of building a squad that can establish itself at or near the top of the table season on season.
Arteta has rarely been faced with the challenge of learning how to effectively rotate his side like his former mentor Pep Guardiola has mastered at City. With a squad that is growing continually stronger the Arsenal manager will need to learn this himself and Wednesday might be the first step along that process.
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