A round-up of the latest Arsenal news as Luton Town boss Rob Edwards claims one Gunner is in an ‘unfortunate’ spot and David Ornstein says Mikel Arteta’s ‘concern’.
Leandro Trossard wants to ‘make it hard’ for Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta
Belgium winger Leandro Trossard is desperate to ‘make it hard’ for Mikel Arteta to leave him out of the Arsenal line-up. The 29-year-old returned to the Gunners’ XI at home to Luton on Wednesday night. And he feels it ‘could not’ have gone better for proving the forward’s skill.
Arteta had axed Trossard in favour of playing Gabriel Jesus on their left wing at Manchester City on Sunday. The return of Gabriel Martinelli from injury could also hinder Trossard’s bid for further starts. He had taken over the position in Martinelli’s absence for much of March.
Trossard has still only started in 11 Premier League fixtures this season after helping Arsenal to a 2-0 win over Luton, though. Yet he has seven goals over 26 appearances. So, Trossard is now keen to give Arteta a happy headache deciding who to leave out amid their title bid.
“Everyone showed they can play and make it hard for the manager,” Trossard said, via the Mirror. “I think he is happy with the performance of all the players, so it couldn’t be better.
“There were five changes in this game and everyone did their job, and that is what we need in the team – competition. Confidence levels are really high. Hopefully, we can maintain this and we have to take it game-by-game because we are playing every three days.”
Read more about what Trossard has had to say about Arsenal and Arteta, here.
Rod Edwards thinks Emile Smith Rowe’s in an ‘unfortunate’ spot at Arsenal
Luton Town coach Edwards claims Emile Smith Rowe is in an ‘unfortunate’ place through his lack of games at Arsenal. The 23-year-old started a Premier League fixture for only the third this term on Wednesday as Arteta rang the changes to the Gunners’ XI against the Hatters.
Smith Rowe has further only started four of his 17 appearances across all competitions for a total of 442 minutes. He gained 85 of those minutes against Luton and picked Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu’s pocket before feeding Kai Havertz, who assisted Martin Odegaard’s opening goal.
Last season’s injury woes have followed Smith Rowe into the current campaign after further fitness issues. He only played 195 minutes through 14 appearances last term. But Edwards is still a huge admirer of the player Smith Rowe is after working with him as an England coach.
“He’s a really good player,” Edwards stated in his post-match press conference. “I was lucky enough, he probably won’t remember this, but I did a few camps with him with the Under-20s when I was working at the FA. I thought he was outstanding.
“We played Portugal, we won 1-0 and he was brilliant. So, I’ve always been a big admirer of his. I thought he was very good. He’s a top player. They’ve got a lot of players here and it’s just unfortunate they’ve not been able to get him in. But I think he’s an exceptional player.”
Read more about what Luton boss Edwards has said about Arsenal star Smith Rowe, here.
David Ornstein reveals Mikel Arteta’s Premier League title race ‘concern’
Coaches at Arsenal have told Ornstein of The Athletic that they are ‘concerned’ the club will slip against a so-called lesser team and ruin their hopes of winning the Premier League title. But crunch upcoming matches against their rival top-six squads do not scare Arteta’s team.
Arsenal have a potentially tricky title run-in as they strive to deny Manchester City a record fourth consecutive title or Liverpool’s second. The Emirates Stadium natives still have to go to Brighton, Tottenham and Manchester United and host Aston Villa, Chelsea and Everton.
The Gunners also have a trip to Wolves to come, while AFC Bournemouth visit north London in May. Arsenal also have their Champions League quarter-final with Bayern Munich on the horizon. But the fear of letting the Premier League title slip away is concerning for Arsenal.
He told Sky Sports: “When I speak to people at Arsenal, they aren’t so concerned about the biggest matches these days in terms of the Tottenhams, Chelseas and Manchester Uniteds.
“That’s evidenced by the fact that they’ve picked up four points against Manchester City this season and four points against Liverpool. That’s more than either of those teams have in the sort of round-robin against those same opponents.
“It’s more the smaller matches. The likes of Luton Town on Wednesday and Brentford before the international break. Sheffield United, too. Yet Arsenal are coming through all of them. Sheffield United was rampant, Brentford less so and Wednesday was sort of in-between.”
Read more about what Ornstein has said about Arsenal’s concerns for the title race, here.