3/10 Arsenal star player must be dropped

A week ago, Arsenal took off the handbrake to face rivals Spurs. They won 4-1. The football on display was some of the best Mikel Arteta’s side have seen all season.

But it was only Tottenham, Tottenham who are in danger of being relegated. Sorry I had to put that in. Seven days on, their victory over Chelsea was rather muddled. That wasn’t surprising given how the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final between these two teams played out.

Liam Rossenier’s side certainly had a more attacking game plan this time, but in the end it was a set-piece battle. In fact, that has been the story of this season’s Premier League.

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

These two goals were sandwiched between Chelsea’s goal, which Piero Hincapie sent into the back of his own goal from a set piece. At the full-time whistle, the score was 2-1, and as the scoreline shows, it was a close game.

How Arsenal beat Chelsea on Sunday

If Arteta’s side win the league title in May, it would be no exaggeration to say that they have won the title after a difficult journey. Apart from the game against Spurs, Arsenal have struggled in recent weeks, finding themselves at the bottom of their quest for Premier League glory with a 2-2 draw at Wolves.

But importantly, they have bounced back from that result and have now beaten Spurs and Chelsea in consecutive weeks. It wasn’t a vintage display, but it worked on Sunday.

To be honest, there weren’t many players in the Red and Whites to compliment, but as always, credit should be given to the backline who got the three points, albeit not in the traditional way.

Since Aleta took over, his side have become one of the best defensive sides in Europe, but it was in the final third where they shone this weekend.

This was truly a set-piece battle, with Arsenal, the set-piece kings, coming out on top. Saliba took the lead with his first goal of the season.

Bukayo Saka’s shot was swung towards the back post, Gabriel Magalhães bulldozed Reece James to one side, and then his fellow centre-back beat the goalkeeper with a deflection.

Hincapie scored their own goal with a header just before half-time, but the home side gained the upper hand in the 45th minute of the second half, and thanks to a corner kick from Declan Rice, the Timbers won the game with a header from outside the yard.

The Dutch defender has not been in his best form of late, with Arteta replacing him at full-back in the last game against Spurs, but he returned to form against Chelsea.

The North Londoners did not have a smooth victory, but they did have a late red card to be thankful for. Pedro Neto received his second yellow card for bundling up Gabriel Martinelli.

Martinelli’s cameo was brilliant, although he didn’t score or assist, and it would be no surprise to see him start against Brighton in midweek.

Worst players in Arsenal vs Chelsea

There weren’t many players in either red or white who were likely to take this victory satisfied with their individual performance. That certainly applies to Leandro Trossard.

This turned out to be quite an interesting campaign for the Belgians. Although he attracted interest from elsewhere last summer, Arsenal bosses decided to give him a pay rise, reflecting his importance to Arteta’s project.

He quickly returned the favor, scoring eight points and dishing out six assists in the first 22 games of the season. He looked like one of the best wingers in the league.

However, at 31 years old, 2026 is a really difficult year for him and he is definitely showing his age. His performances have worsened with each passing week and it is clear that Arsenal need to make signing a new left winger a priority in the summer.

This calendar year, Trossard has failed to score in 14 games, with his only assist coming against Sunderland in early February.

The Belgium international’s form has been declining for some time, but he saved what was probably his worst performance of the season against Chelsea on Sunday.

Arteta isn’t afraid to come on as an early substitute when things don’t go his way. Just ask Eberechi Eze. Now, it was Trossard who received that treatment, and he was sent off after just 56 minutes.

During his time on the field, Trossard was completely ineffective, leaving the pitch with only 33 touches, two fewer than goalkeeper David Raya.

But most worryingly, the forward registered just one shot and his only key pass. He also lost 60% of his duels. For a player who usually demands a lot not only from himself, but also from his teammates, this was simply not enough.

Trossard had wandered off an hour earlier, knowing he had been detained by Reece James. The Chelsea right-back, who scored a goal for the Blues, put in a perfect performance, winning all five of his matches. It just goes to show how poorly Arsenal’s left winger played.

Trossard will therefore have to be left out of the starting XI to face his former employers when they travel to Brighton in a few days. It’s time to see what Eze or Martinelli can do on the left side.