Arteta must now start "exquisite" Arsenal ace over Leandro Trossard

It's been a brilliant few months for Arsenal since the turn of the year.

Mikel Arteta's men are top of the Premier League and, bar the clash with Brentford on Saturday night, have been blowing teams away for fun.

The Gunners have a real chance to win the league this year and still have a chance to win their first Champions League to boot.

However, to do that, they'll have to overturn a 1-0 deficit at home to Porto, and with Gabriel Martinelli set to miss out with a foot injury, Arteta should make a bold call and drop Leandro Trossard.

Such a change could well spark a repeat of the club's 5-0 win the last time the two teams faced off in this competition at the Emirates.

Leandro Trossard's game vs Brentford in numbers

With Martinelli unavailable for Saturday's clash with Brentford due to the foot injury he picked up against Sheffield United, Arteta opted to start Trossard in his place and, in turn, keep the rest of the team the same.

Considering the Belgian has started 27 of his 55 games for the club in that position, it was the most logical change to make at the time, although with how the game played out, it might not have been the right one.

GK – Manuel Almunia

RB – Bacary Sagna

CB – Sol Campbell

CB – Thomas Vermaelen

LB – Gael Clichy

CM – Abou Diaby

CM – Alex Song

CAM – Samir Nasri

RM – Tomas Rosicky

LM – Andrey Arshavin

ST – Nicklas Bendtner

It might sound like a harsh assessment, but it was one shared by the MailOnline's Riath Al-Samarrai, who gave the 29-year-old a 6/10 on the night and claimed there was 'little to write home about' his performance.

Al-Samarrai's opinion is backed up by the former Brighton & Hove Albion man's statistics from the night. In his 79 minutes on the pitch, he failed to score or provide an assist, won just five of his ten duels, lost the ball ten times, and committed three fouls. While he did take two shots on target, Trossard mustered an expected goals figure of just 0.19.

Minutes

79

Goals

0

Assists

0

Duels (Won)

10 (5)

Lost Possession

10

Fouls

3

Shots on Target

2

Expected Goals

0.19

Ultimately, while the former Brighton man wasn't terrible, or even that bad, he was ineffective, and in a game as important as tonight's, where the team are already one goal down and will need to score early, that could be costly.

The man to replace Leandro Trossard

Yes, the player who should start on the left in place of the injured Brazilian is another Brazilian, Gabriel Jesus.

The "exquisite" ace, as dubbed by U23 scout Antonio Mango, missed five games last month through a knee injury, but with back-to-back cameos off the bench recently, it feels like the right time to bring him back into the starting XI.

Now, his most played position is obviously striker, but with Kai Havertz scoring three goals and providing two assists in the last three games in that role, it would be madness to take him out of the team.

Moreover, the 26-year-old dynamo has plenty of experience playing on the left wing. In his career, he has made 33 appearances in this position, in which he has scored 13 goals and provided four assists.

Striker

257

113

50

0.63

Left-Wing

33

13

4

0.51

Right-Wing

24

8

10

0.75

Additionally, the rapid pace and intricate skills of the "unreal" ace, as dubbed by Rio Ferdinand, on the left, combined with the brilliant dribbling and all-around game of Bukayo Saka on the right, could prove too much for Porto's defence, especially if Havertz can keep playing the false nine role as well as he has recently.

Ultimately, with the 90 minutes tonight being do or die for the club's European Ambitions this season, Arteta should be trying to get his best players, including Jesus, into the starting XI.