Arsenal host Atletico Madrid in tonight’s Champions League encounter at the Emirates Stadium.
Ahead of the game, we anticipate manager Mikel Arteta to make two changes from the 1-0 Premier League win at Fulham.
In our opinion, one of those should be Gabriel Martinelli coming in for Leandro Trossard on the left wing.
Trossard has started the last five league and European games. He was ineffective until Saturday’s winner at Craven Cottage.
The Belgian had an average outing with no crosses (0/5) and dribbles (0/1) completed. He won just 50 percent of his duels.
Despite this, the 30-year-old ended up with a crucial goal contribution to send Arsenal three points clear at the top of the league.
Arteta described Trossard as a ‘massive weapon‘ after the London derby but we believe he should still be benched for Martinelli tonight.
Martinelli has netted in each Champions League game this season with one assist. He came off the bench to score after just 36 seconds against Athletic Club on the road.
The Brazilian started the previous outing against Olympiacos. He had an easy tap-in early during the opening half, but missed another glorious chance.
In our view, Martinelli’s pace and quick dribbling on the left wing could help stretch Atletico’s backline, while creating space and chances for his teammates.
The attacker, described as ‘electric‘ by Arsenal.com, can also create chaos with his positional changes.
He came on centrally and broke the deadlock against Athletic. Martinelli repeated the feat against Manchester City, scoring a dramatic late equaliser at the Emirates.
Martinelli does not possess Gyokeres’ physical or aerial presence, but he provides something different with his pace and improved finishing this season.
Hence, Arteta should start Martinelli over Trossard on the left wing against Diego Simeone’s side.
Stats from Sofascore.com
