Fewer touches than Raya & 60% duels lost: 3/10 Arsenal star must be dropped

A week ago, Arsenal took the handbrake off and went for broke against rivals, Spurs. They won 4-1. The football on display was some of the best we’ve seen from Mikel Arteta‘s men all season long.

Yet, that was only Tottenham, relegation-threatened Tottenham that is. Sorry, but we had to get that in there. Seven days on and their win over Chelsea was rather more gritty. Given the way the second leg played out in the Carabao Cup semi-final between these two teams, that was hardly a surprise.

On this occasion, Liam Rosenior’s men certainly put a more attacking game plan into place but ultimately it became a battle of the set-piece. That has rather been the story of this Premier League season.

The Gunners were not at their best on Sunday but they won the battle of the corners, bagging two set-pieces courtesy of headers from William Saliba and Jurrien Timber.

Those two goals were sandwiched by a Chelsea goal from a set-play, glanced into the back of his own net by Piero Hincapie. The score read 2-1 at the full-time whistle and it was just as close as that scoreline suggests.

How Arsenal defeated Chelsea on Sunday

If Arteta’s men win the league title in May, it’s safe to say they will have done so the hard way. That game against Spurs aside, Arsenal have struggled in recent weeks with their 2-2 draw against Wolves the nadir of their quest for Premier League glory.

But, crucially, they have bounced back from that result, now beating Spurs and Chelsea in successive weeks. It wasn’t a vintage display but it was effective on Sunday.

Truthfully, there were not many in red and white who flattered but, as they so often do, they had their backline to thank for coming away with three points, although not in the traditional way.

While Areta’s side have become one of the best defensive sides in Europe since he became manager, it was in the final third where they shone this weekend.

This very much became a war of set-pieces and it was Arsenal, the set-play kings, who reigned supreme. They opened the scoring through Saliba who netted for the first time this term.

Bukayo Saka’s delivery was swung towards the back post where Gabriel Magalhaes bulldozed Reece James to one side and then found his fellow centre-back who beat the goalkeeper via a deflection.

While Hincapie did head into the back of his own net just moments before the break, the hosts were better in the second 45 minutes and courtesy of a Declan Rice corner, Timber could not miss his header from yards out to win the game.

The Dutch defender has not been at his best of late, so much so that Arteta subbed the full-back last time out against Spurs, but he was back to his best against Chelsea.

The north Londoners did not exactly coast to victory but they did have a late red card to thank. Pedro Neto bundled Gabriel Martinelli over and received a second yellow card.

Martinelli’s cameo, although he did not score or assist a goal, was a bright one and it would not be a surprise to see him start in midweek against Brighton.

Arsenal’s worst player vs Chelsea

There were not many players in red or white who would likely come away from this win too fond of their individual performance. That can certainly be applied to Leandro Trossard.

For the Belgian, this has been a rather interesting campaign. Last summer, he was attracting interest from elsewhere but the Arsenal hierarchy decided to give him a pay rise, a gesture that reflected his importance to Arteta’s project.

He paid that back immediately, scoring eight times and registering six assists in his first 22 matches of the campaign. He looked like one of the best wingers in the league.

However, 2026 has been a really tricky one for the 31-year-old who is arguably now showing his age. His performances are getting worse by the week and it’s abundantly clear that Arsenal need to make signing a new left winger in the summer a priority.

During this calendar year, Trossard has gone goalless in his 14 outings, supplying just a solitary assist against Sunderland at the start of February.

While the Belgium international’s form has been deteriorating for a while now, he saved what was arguably his worst display of the campaign for Chelsea on Sunday.

Arteta has not been afraid to make early subs when things are going wrong. Just ask Eberechi Eze. Well, on this occasion, it was Trossard who was getting that treatment, taken off after just 56 minutes.

During his time on the field, Trossard was wholly ineffective, leaving the pitch with just 33 touches to his name, two fewer than goalkeeper David Raya.

What was most alarming, though, is that the forward registered just one shot and a solitary key pass. He also lost as many as 60% of his duels. This was simply not good enough for a player who usually demands so much of not just himself but also his teammates.

As he trudged off before the hour mark, Trossard did so knowing he had been locked down by Reece James. The Chelsea right-back, who supplied the Blues’ goal, delivered a complete performance that saw him win all five of his duels. That is a testament to how poorly Arsenal’s left winger played.

So, as they travel to Brighton in a few days, Trossard must come out of the starting lineup to face his former employers. It’s time to see what Eze or Martinelli can do off the left.

Related

Arteta’s most expensive defender ever now looks finished at Arsenal

For all of Arsenal’s defensive success, Mikel Arteta must look to sell a struggling defender this summer.