Mikel Arteta must start Arsenal's "massive weapon" vs Everton, he's scored in last 2 away meetings

Arsenal face Everton in Saturday’s late Premier League kick-off at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Ahead of the game, manager Mikel Arteta is poised to make a few changes from the 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Emirates Stadium.

We anticipate a change in the left wing department with Leandro Trossard being reinstated in the starting line-up for the first time in more than three weeks.

The Belgian last started in the 3-1 Champions League win over Bayern Munich in late November. He was replaced by Noni Madueke in the first half after sustaining a calf injury.

Trossard has since made two substitute appearances, scoring in the defeat at Aston Villa. Arteta must now start the 31-year-old on the left wing against the Toffees, in our view.

The former Brighton & Hove Albion man was heavily linked with a summer exit from the Gunners, but the club ended up rewarding him with a pay rise on his existing deal.

The decision received a mixed response among the club’s faithful, but Trossard has answered his critics with six goals and five assists from just 18 appearances this season.

He has been the Gunners’ most creative outlet and has been hailed as a ‘massive weapon‘ by Arteta.

Trossard has only two goals in 12 meetings against Everton, but those have come in the last two away meetings at Goodison Park.

He bagged the winner coming off the bench during the 2023/24 campaign, while opening the scoring in a 1-1 draw last season.

The Belgian was a regular starter on the left wing before his calf injury, and appears certain to reclaim his role from Gabriel Martinelli on Saturday.

Martinelli has scored in five straight Champions League appearances this term, but has managed just one goal in 400 minutes in the league so far.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com

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