Forget Gyokeres and Merino, 53-touch Arsenal star was a lot worse against Manchester City

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Arsenal struggled to create chances against Manchester City in Sunday’s draw at the Emirates, with one star in particular finding it difficult.

Mikel Arteta’s side drew 1-1 in North London, thanks to Gabriel Martinelli’s late equaliser, cancelling out Erling Haaland’s early goal.

The Brazilian brilliantly flicked the ball over Gianluigi Donnarumma in stoppage time, after being clipped through on goal by Eberechi Eze.

While a point was salvaged in dramatic fashion, Arteta will be far from satisfied with what he saw from his team at times on the day.

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Leandro Trossard was poor for Arsenal against Manchester City

Viktor Gyokeres has received criticism for his performance after playing another game against a big side where he failed to register a shot.

Meanwhile, Mikel Merino’s presence in the starting eleven frustrated many, and the Spaniard’s ineffective display saw him get hooked at half-time.

However, another Arsenal player who started was arguably as underwhelming as the aforementioned two.

Leandro Trossard, who also wasn’t the most popular starting choice, struggled to impact the game throughout his 84 minutes on the pitch.

Aside from a few perfect switches of play to the other wing, the Belgian did very little in the final third.

Most of his good work came much deeper on the pitch, but he was ultimately selected for what he could bring in advanced areas, and he offered virtually nothing.

21-year-old Abdukodir Khusanov was there for the taking, but Trossard hardly looked to take the youngster on and ultimately wasn’t able to create separation from the full-back to create opportunities at any moment.

The 30-year-old’s inclusion was certainly questionable, and Arteta may be regretting the decision to start him now.

Leandro Trossard’s statistics vs Manchester City

This was a peripheral display from Trossard in the final third.

Dropping deep to facilitate build-up at times, this wasn’t what was required of him on the day, with the need to run at Khusanov and stretch their vulnerable backline what he should’ve been doing.

Taking just two shots, worth a combined 0.1 expected goals, whilst creating no chances, he did little in terms of direct involvement in critical moments.

Meanwhile, he completed none of his three attempted crosses and only managed four touches in City’s box. A dire outing for the Belgium international.