Recent Arsenal trend shows Mikel Arteta has a big problem with Leandro Trossard

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A recent issue with Leandro Trossard is now causing a problem for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.

Since his £27 million arrival from Brighton in January, Leandro Trossard has had a significant impact for Arsenal.

Already this season, the versatile Belgian attacker has racked up four goals and one assist across eleven outings in all competitions.

The 28-year-old is behind Gabriel Martinelli in the pecking order, but has proven himself to be an effective alternative for Mikel Arteta to bring on when the Brazilian tires or Arsenal just need something different going forwards.

Leandro Trossard has a starting XI problem

There has been an issue, so far this season, when Trossard has been selected to start matches. He has so far made the starting XI on five occasions, and has failed to impress on four of them. The one exception to this rule came back in September when the 28-cap Belgium international was excellent against PSV Eindhoven in a Premier League clash.

On the four other occasions, though, it has been a different story. In the Premier League, against Fulham and Manchester City, Trossard has been hooked by Arteta at half time, having failed to offer any cutting edge in the opening 45 minutes. He was similarly ineffective against Lens in another continental clash.

On Wednesday evening, for his 66 minutes on the pitch against West Ham United in an EFL Cup fixture, Trossard was an entirely peripheral figure. 

Mikel Arteta needs Trossard to offer more

Arteta needs Trossard to be more than an excellent impact sub. He has to be able to reliably contribute when rotated into the starting XI. He has to provide genuine competition for Martinelli, and give Arteta the security and confidence to be able to rest the 22-year-old when appropriate. 

Over this course of the season, in which Arsenal will be aiming to compete until the bitter end on multiple fronts, Trossard will inevitably be afforded plenty of starts. He has to break his recent habit of letting these opportunities pass him by.

It has been suggested that Trossard can’t be happy with his lack of regular game time at Arsenal. If he wants more he has to earn it.