• | Leandro Trossard had broken the deadlock and stood emotionless in front of the visiting fans. An inrushing William Saliba was soon begging the Belgian to pull out that trademark ‘goggles’ celebration.
But, no, Trossard silently refused, the pain of occupying the bench for a second consecutive game still in his mind.
The forward had entered the pitch on 65 minutes and, two minutes later, neatly swept Bukayo Saka’s low cutback into the bottom-right corner past Emi Martinez — his first touch of the game.
Trossard has been usurped by Gabriel Martinelli of late, and will understandably be feeling miffed; for starters, his goalscoring heroics put Arsenal on the brink of the Premier League title last season.
He had started seven of Arsenal’s final eight league matches in the previous campaign, scoring five, which left Martinelli on the bench. Furthermore, he struck 12 in total across the season — five of them after coming on as a substitute.
Not much more could be asked of him. Yet it is Trossard’s professionalism and desire to prove his manager wrong which has become an important case study for Mikel Arteta.
Arteta said: ‘First of all when you don’t get picked, there are certain ways to react.
‘Leo is upset but he’s upset to show on the pitch how good he is, not upset then come in and (think), “Because I wasn’t playing then it is like this”. That’s a huge quality.
‘When you put him in the starting XI he does exactly the same thing. That’s a big message and a big example for the rest of the team and myself.’
That latter sentence rings true for much of the Arsenal squad. Trossard is the prime example for the players who are in and out of the team on a dime, owing to the quality and depth at Arteta’s disposal.
The £42million Riccardo Calafiori has been Arsenal’s marquee summer signing thus far, though hasn’t yet started in the league — he made an 11-minute substitute appearance on Saturday.
Oleksandr Zinchenko was replaced by Jurrien Timber who has come back from a minor niggle, while Thomas Partey, despite scoring and putting in a much better display than against Wolves, will now be looking over his shoulder with the expected arrival of Mikel Merino.
And then there are the fringe players such as Reiss Nelson and Ethan Nwaneri, chomping at the bit to get any scraps of minutes where they can. This ferocious competition has seen Fabio Vieira go back to Porto on loan for game time.
It all equates to a potent recipe: a squad with players of identical ability, both in the starting line-up and on the bench. A blueprint which has served Manchester City so well in recent years, and one Arsenal have gradually achieved.
When Arteta became Arsenal manager in December 2019, he had the likes of Cedric Soares, Nicolas Pepe and Mo Elneny as substitutes.
After spending over £200million last summer, and the acquisitions of Raya (loan move made permanent), Calafiori and the expected Merino in this window, the Gunners are at the stage where they can rotate the starting XI without weakening it.
Therein lies the battle Arteta has over a full campaign: keeping all the players motivated and wanting to fight, even when a place in the team feels far away.
Easier without maverick personalities such as Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, and the fact that this a young squad does help — the average age is 25.6. Though, nevertheless, nearly no player wants to sit out.
What makes the strength in depth even more vital this time around is the minutes played last season.
Saka fought on through injury and Saliba was one of only two defenders in the league (along with Max Kilman) to play every minute of the campaign. So mainstays of the starting XI could well need to be rotated.
There is also the matter of two extra Champions League matches, owing to a new format. And one can’t forget the inevitability of the odd injury here and there which all teams face at some stage.
As the season wears on, it’s Trossard who is the ultimate case study to his team-mates of biting the bullet and proving one’s self when you get any chance. Arteta certainly thinks so.
We Are The Gunners
🔴⚫️🟢
But, no, Trossard silently refused, the pain of occupying the bench for a second consecutive game still in his mind.
The forward had entered the pitch on 65 minutes and, two minutes later, neatly swept Bukayo Saka’s low cutback into the bottom-right corner past Emi Martinez — his first touch of the game.
Trossard has been usurped by Gabriel Martinelli of late, and will understandably be feeling miffed; for starters, his goalscoring heroics put Arsenal on the brink of the Premier League title last season.
He had started seven of Arsenal’s final eight league matches in the previous campaign, scoring five, which left Martinelli on the bench. Furthermore, he struck 12 in total across the season — five of them after coming on as a substitute.
Not much more could be asked of him. Yet it is Trossard’s professionalism and desire to prove his manager wrong which has become an important case study for Mikel Arteta.
Arteta said: ‘First of all when you don’t get picked, there are certain ways to react.
‘Leo is upset but he’s upset to show on the pitch how good he is, not upset then come in and (think), “Because I wasn’t playing then it is like this”. That’s a huge quality.
‘When you put him in the starting XI he does exactly the same thing. That’s a big message and a big example for the rest of the team and myself.’
That latter sentence rings true for much of the Arsenal squad. Trossard is the prime example for the players who are in and out of the team on a dime, owing to the quality and depth at Arteta’s disposal.
The £42million Riccardo Calafiori has been Arsenal’s marquee summer signing thus far, though hasn’t yet started in the league — he made an 11-minute substitute appearance on Saturday.
Oleksandr Zinchenko was replaced by Jurrien Timber who has come back from a minor niggle, while Thomas Partey, despite scoring and putting in a much better display than against Wolves, will now be looking over his shoulder with the expected arrival of Mikel Merino.
And then there are the fringe players such as Reiss Nelson and Ethan Nwaneri, chomping at the bit to get any scraps of minutes where they can. This ferocious competition has seen Fabio Vieira go back to Porto on loan for game time.
It all equates to a potent recipe: a squad with players of identical ability, both in the starting line-up and on the bench. A blueprint which has served Manchester City so well in recent years, and one Arsenal have gradually achieved.
When Arteta became Arsenal manager in December 2019, he had the likes of Cedric Soares, Nicolas Pepe and Mo Elneny as substitutes.
After spending over £200million last summer, and the acquisitions of Raya (loan move made permanent), Calafiori and the expected Merino in this window, the Gunners are at the stage where they can rotate the starting XI without weakening it.
Therein lies the battle Arteta has over a full campaign: keeping all the players motivated and wanting to fight, even when a place in the team feels far away.
Easier without maverick personalities such as Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, and the fact that this a young squad does help — the average age is 25.6. Though, nevertheless, nearly no player wants to sit out.
What makes the strength in depth even more vital this time around is the minutes played last season.
Saka fought on through injury and Saliba was one of only two defenders in the league (along with Max Kilman) to play every minute of the campaign. So mainstays of the starting XI could well need to be rotated.
There is also the matter of two extra Champions League matches, owing to a new format. And one can’t forget the inevitability of the odd injury here and there which all teams face at some stage.
As the season wears on, it’s Trossard who is the ultimate case study to his team-mates of biting the bullet and proving one’s self when you get any chance. Arteta certainly thinks so.
We Are The Gunners
🔴⚫️🟢
