Gabriel Jesus is one of Arsenal's few players with winning experience. Credit: Reuters/David Klein
Since leaving Brighton blue for Arsenal red in the January transfer window, Leandro Trossard has been the most creative player in the Premier League. The Belgian has already made seven assists for his new club — three more than any other player in that time — and was named Arsenal's Player of the Month for March this week.
Trossard thrived on the left flank, right flank and in the center position, where his understanding of Mikel Arteta's tactical system made him a superbly effective false nine. With his tight control in small spaces, his awareness in attack and his performance in the last third, he was arguably the best signing of the January transfer window. The initial transfer fee of £21 million is already a bargain.
And yet, despite all that, Trossard should certainly start on the bench this weekend when Arsenal take on Liverpool at Anfield in one of the most important matches of their campaign. Rigid assessment? This is not a dismissal of Trossard's game, but the reality of Arsenal's development as a club and their current situation under Arteta.
Simply put, four against three will not work. Arsenal's front line has three spots and four players in contention for their spot: Trossard, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus. Assuming all four arrive at Liverpool in full uniform, one of them should sit on the bench.
Why does it have to be Trossard? Well, it can't be Martinelli. The Brazilian winger has the form to terrorize Liverpool and Trent Alexander-Arnold in particular, and has been such an inconvenience to Jurgen Klopp's team that the German has regularly praised him (often unasked) in public. When the two teams last met in October, Martinelli scored one and created another in Arsenal's 3-2 victory.
Leandro Trossard gave Arsenal's attack a new dimension and more depth. Photo: Getty Images/Jacques Feeney
Martinelli's recent form is even more impressive than Trossard's. Since Arsenal's 3-1 defeat by Manchester City in February, the 21-year-old has scored six goals in seven league games. Against Liverpool's high defensive line, his pace could be Arsenal's most effective weapon.
It also cannot be Saka, who is eliminated. The Englishman is arguably the best player in the Premier League at the moment, as well as the club's top scorer (13 goals in all competitions) and top assist (10 assists).
To equalize, the debate about Saki's inclusion is virtually nonsensical: recent history shows that when he is in shape, he starts. Last weekend against Leeds United, Saka started the day on the bench after missing training due to illness — the first Premier League game he hasn't started since December 2021. Arteta doesn't trust anyone anymore.
This all brings us to Jesus, who is still recovering from a long-standing knee injury. The 4-1 win over Leeds was the Brazilian's first league start since November, and for 60 minutes he played with an intensity and physicality that Arsenal simply don't have when he's away. In the dressing room after the game in which he scored twice, he was applauded by teammates and coaches.
It's hard to overestimate the importance of Jesus to the psyche of this Arsenal team, and it's also hard to overestimate the size of the mental challenge that Arteta's players have faced this weekend.
This may not be the biggest challenge. Liverpool in recent years, but Klopp's side have won five of their last six league home games, and the last three have been won 11-0 on aggregate. Meanwhile, Arsenal's record at Anfield has been pitiful, having lost their last six league matches there, conceding a total of 22 goals (at least three in each game).
Jesus fought Liverpool in the decisive matches against Manchester City. Photo: Shutterstock/Andrew Yates
Jesus, along with Oleksandr Zinchenko, was signed to address these weaknesses. Part of it is leadership, but there is also something deeper. It is the presence, experience and attitude of the Brazilian that have so changed the team this season. From the moment he stepped through the doors in north London, he told his teammates not to be afraid of anyone and insisted they were good enough to win the league title. Just a few months into the season with Jesus in the lead, many players began to believe he was right.
The dimension of his influence at Arsenal is that Jesus was promoted to the top group. , along with Martin Odegaard and Granit Xhaka, weeks after his £45m move from City last summer. He is the holder of many Premier League titles and a real warrior on the field. If there is a reason for such a player and his fearlessness, then this is it.
Trossard has proven to be an unfortunate soul who should therefore miss out (assuming Jesus is healthy enough to start), despite the fact that he scored a hat-trick at Anfield for Brighton earlier this season. However, the role of supersubstitute suits him, given his versatility in attack.
Of course, such dilemmas of choice are what Klopp and Pep Guardiola have become accustomed to over the past few years. With all of their players available, both managers are forced to keep at least one world-class striker on their bench for every game. Arteta simply didn't have that much strength and depth before Trossard's arrival.
By recent Arsenal standards, having four players of that caliber competing for just three positions is a luxury. The team no longer chooses itself every week, and the squad grows as a unit. This is what Arsenal want and this is how they plan to fight for titles in the coming years. This complicates decisions for Arteta, but improves results for the team.
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