One Arsenal star has come under fire from the media after failing to influence the match against Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.
After Arsenal fell behind against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena last night, Mikel Arteta turned to his bench in an effort to find a way back into the game.
Gabriel Martinelli was one of three Arsenal players to be blamed for allowing Joshua Kimmich’s goal in the 63rd minute. The Brazilian winger was hauled off five minutes later to be replaced by Leandro Trossard, with Gabriel Jesus also taking to the field at the same time.
This same change paid off for Arteta in the first-leg, of course. When the Gunners were chasing a goal at the Emirates Stadium, Jesus and Trossard came on and combined to provide that all-important strike.
On that occasion, Jesus dazzled Arsenal fans with his quick-thinking in the Bayern Munich box as he set up the onrushing Belgian attacker to bury the ball smartly beyond Manuel Neuer in the bottom corner. Trossard was recently credited with being the best finisher in the Arsenal squad.
However, with Arsenal in desperate need of a moment of magic in Munich last night, neither Trossard or Jesus could conjure anything.
Leandro Trossard criticised for Bayern Munich cameo
Trossard, in particular, failed to get into the game at all. As per WhoScored statistics, the 29-year-old managed just nine touches of the ball in his time on the pitch. He never looked likely to get into a scoring position or test the hosts’ defence in any meaningful way.
Trossard has proven himself to be something of a ‘super sub’ for Arsenal this season. His cameo in Germany was utterly ineffectual though, and the former Brighton man has since drawn criticism from the press for his scarce involvement.
Goal gave the forward a 5/10 rating for his performance, and stated that he had “no impact at all having replaced Martinelli.”
Leandro Trossard struggles part of bigger Arsenal squad problem
Of course, it is unfair to pin this defeat on Trossard. Bukayo Saka also frustrated Arsenal fans with his display, and the likes of Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard, and Jesus were all also unable to find a way through the Bayern Munich rearguard.
Arteta will have learned several things about his Arsenal squad in the wake of their Champions League exit, and one of the key takeaways has to be that he lacks trusted rotation players who he can rely upon to step up when called upon.
