Unhappy Trossard

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When I saw Leandro Trossard celebrate his goal against Aston Villa in the "no celebration" style as against his usual goggle style, I feared that the media would latch unto it and build a mountain out of it. Boy was I right.

With what was his first touch after coming on for Martinelli, Trossard put us ahead in a game we were fortunate not to have been two goals down and didn't celebrate in his usual style. It took push from Partey and Saliba before he eventually did the goggle celebration.

As expected, the media feasted on it and have begun to question whether he is happy with not getting a starting berth in the Arsenal team.

I liked how Arteta responded to a journalist who asked him if Trossard meant to pass a message with his celebration about not being happy for not starting. Arteta said yes, Trossard's way of showing his unhappiness is to come on the pitch and change (win) games, which is the kind of unhappiness that you want not an unhappy player who comes on to the field and sulks because he's not starting.

People and fans need to understand that no matter how many fantastic players you have in a team you can only field a maximum of 11 at a time, which means not everyone will get the minutes they want. It is then up to the coach to determine who gets what and what works best for the team.

Trossard has been an impact sub for Arteta over time and as harsh as you may think that is, I'm not sure why you should change what is working for you. If I recall correctly, he scored six goals off the bench last season; goals that proved pivotal to how we ended the season. Why change what's working?

I also disagree that he doesn't get to start games. We have also seen games where Arteta starts him ahead of Martinelli. In all, the type of opposition and the game plan would determine who a coach deems fit to start.

Martinelli offers a more traditional and direct playing style while Trossard is more creative and less direct. The fact that he can also hit the ball well with both feet is another edge he has over Martinelli.

And if we're to judge by his body language, nothing so far suggests he is unhappy. When he's not playing, it's not like you see him on his phone. He's always focused, reading the game and looking at the spaces he can exploit when he gets called upon.

If Trossard's way of showing is anger is coming on to win us games, I think they should modify his contract to reflect it but I doubt it'd bug Arteta, being the Arteta we know. In the end, the buck stops at his table.