Options, 'impacters', headaches
Sunday's game and dropping the man with an Anfield hat-trick this season
I’ll have another piece about the trip to Anfield kicking off squeaky bum time tomorrow. Before that, a look at the big question Arteta has to answer on Sunday …
Last weekend, for the first time since December 2021, Arsenal started a Premier League game without Bukayo Saka and it was absolutely fine. Leandro Trossard shifted to the right and Gabriel Jesus came in down the middle to complete a new-look three-man frontline with Gabriel Martinelli. The trio combined well — Jesus scored two, one assisted by Trossard, while Martinelli created Ben White’s goal — and Arsenal eased to victory even with Saka just featuring for half an hour.
It was a far cry from last season and a reminder of how far this squad has come in such a short amount of time. Emile Smith Rowe has missed most of the season (all nine of his appearances have come from the bench) and he hasn’t really been missed, with Martinelli nailing down his place on the left. Saka has continued to grow in influence on the right but, crucially, he is no more important despite that, thanks to greater depth. And Arsenal have been without Eddie Nketiah in recent weeks and that hasn’t mattered either, thanks to the return to fitness of Jesus and the fine form of January addition Leandro Trossard.
But as Arsenal head to Anfield on Sunday, Mikel Arteta has all four of his forwards fit and firing at the same time for the first time since Trossard was added to a settled frontline. It’s the classic case of the manager having a welcome headache. The Belgian was awarded Arsenal’s Player of the Month for March this week and has seven assists in his last five Premier League starts … but he also has to be the one to drop to the bench.
Trossard has the quality to impact games against any opponent but it is just so hard to justify him starting at Anfield over any of the other options, even if he did score a hat-trick there earlier this season.
Above all else, the three players he is competing with for a place all inject some urgency and pace into the game that the Belgian unfortunately lacks. Playing Liverpool at Anfield will always be intense and Arsenal will need to make the most of players who can not just squeeze out of tight gaps — something Trossard does really well — but who can also explode into space with their next step.
Down the middle, Gabriel Jesus offers similar flexibility (drifting into wide spaces and dropping into midfield to help provide options to the player in possession, something that will be crucial against Liverpool) but combines that with the physicality and durability of a target man. Arsenal lost to Manchester United at Old Trafford back in September but Jesus played incredibly well, seeking contact from the centre-backs and winning those battles repeatedly.
In recent seasons against Jürgen Klopp’s sides, away from home especially, Arsenal have been pinned back in their own half. That is so much less likely to happen with Jesus up front using his ability to compete and battle for every ball, and combining it with the technical security he offers in possession too, helping him either win fouls or keep hold of the ball long enough to be supported by team-mates.
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