Arsenal begin their 2024/25 Premier League campaign against Wolves at home.
The new season is just over a week away, and the preparations have been really good. Arsenal smashed Bayer Leverkusen 4-1 at the Emirates in their most recent game.
Oleksandr Zinchenko, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz found the net against the German champions, and they were all fantastic in attack.
Arteta hailed all of them after the game, and his comments may just be bad news for one Arsenal star, who came on as a substitute against Leverkusen on Wednesday.
Mikel Arteta delivers verdict on Leandro Trossard after Arsenal vs Bayer Leverkusen
Gabriel Martinelli is one of Arsenal’s best players – there’s no debate there.
The Brazilian is absolutely rapid, can take players on at will, and his finishing is very, very good too. Martinelli can be ‘unplayable‘ at times, which makes him a big asset.
However, against Bayer Leverkusen in the first game of the Emirates Cup, Arteta decided to bench Martinelli and started Trossard on the left wing instead.
The Belgian has been poor for most of this summer’s pre-season, but he had a really good game against Xabi Alonso’s side at the Emirates.
Speaking after the game, Arteta was asked about the chemistry between Havertz and Jesus. The Arsenal manager praised them but decided to include Trossard in the conversation.
He claimed that the former Brighton man, along with Havertz and Jesus, has a ‘false-nine profile’ that enables them to combine together effectively in the final third.
Speaking about the understanding between Jesus and Havertz, Arteta said in his post-match press conference: “I think it’s something you can see coming.
“It’s natural, it flows, there is good chemistry between them – and as well with Leo. The three, they have that false-nine profile. I really like what I saw today.”
Talking more about Arsenal’s left side, Arteta added: “You have to be very sensitive to read the information that the players are giving you. Individually, the chemistry they have within the unit, how things flow, one side and the other.
“It’s certainly something that we can still develop, especially on our left side. Those combinations are giving us options. They are all really, really good players so the competition is quite big there.”
READ MORE: Arsenal player ratings v Bayer Leverkusen featuring Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli
Bad news for Martinelli
Martinelli didn’t have the greatest 2023/24 season.
The Brazilian only scored eight goals in all competitions, and the balance on the left side of Arsenal’s pitch didn’t help him.
Trossard seems to have struck a great connection with Jesus and Havertz at the top end of the pitch. The fact that Arteta specifically mentioned him after the game and claimed that he really liked what he saw could be a big hint about his plans.
Unless Martinelli has a big game against Lyon on Sunday, we think Arteta will start with Trossard in the opening game of the new Premier League season alongside Jesus and Havertz.
That would be a shame for Martinelli, who has started the first game of the campaign in each of the last three Premier League seasons.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
