Mikel Arteta and Leandro Trossard (Photos by Marco Luzzani, Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Arsenal star Leandro Trossard is being singled out for criticism after the Gunners suffered another defeat last night against Inter Milan in the Champions League.
A penalty from Hakan Calhanoglu in first half stoppage time was enough to give Inter a 1-0 victory over Mikel Arteta’s side, who also lost 1-0 away to Newcastle in the Premier League last weekend.
Trossard has been given the difficult job of trying to replace Martin Odegaard’s spark in midfield, and it’s fair to say it’s not working out at all well for the Belgium international.
Various media outlets have given Trossard a very low rating for his performance against Inter, with Goal among those to give him only 4/10 as they slammed his “sloppy” display.
Meanwhile, the Express also gave him just 4/10 and noted that he was too often taking up the wrong positions, too far away from main front-man Kai Havertz.
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Leandro Trossard blocking Ethan Nwaneri?
Although anyone would struggle to replace Odegaard in the Arsenal midfield, there is a case for saying that they have a better option than Trossard in the form of wonderkid Ethan Nwaneri.
See below as AFTV make the case for Nwaneri starting over Trossard after he had a positive impact when he came off the bench against Inter last night…
Mikel Arteta needs to DROP Leandro Trossard! ? #FanCams pic.twitter.com/Jx1ysA2C9f
— AFTV (@AFTVMedia) November 7, 2024
Trossard has had some really positive moments in an Arsenal shirt, but it’s clear that he’s struggling at the moment, so it might be wise for Mikel Arteta to drop him soon.
For one thing, it makes little sense to keep picking a more experienced player who isn’t performing if it’s going to make the team worse whilst also blocking a huge talent like Nwaneri.
We’ve seen similar players like Cesc Fabregas and Jack Wilshere make an impact for Arsenal at that kind of age before, and Nwaneri seems very clearly like he’s up to the job.
Trossard has often worked better as a super-sub anyway, so having him on the bench as an option to introduce later in games could be just what’s required to help get him back to form.