On Saturday evening two heavyweight gladiators met in the form of Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua. Nearly 200 miles north on Sunday, two heavyweights met again, this time at the Etihad Stadium as Arsenal took on title rivals Manchester City.
Kai Havertz may have sent Rodri sprawling to the canvas like AJ after just five seconds on the clock but there was no knockout blow yesterday.
Instead, City and Arsenal shared the spoils from a contest that couldn’t have been more one-sided if they tried.
It was a peculiar match. The inevitable Erling Haaland struck the first blow and for a period of time it looked as though Pep Guardiola’s men, as Dubois had done 18 hours or so prior, were going to win the fight.
Yet, Mikel Arteta’s side fought back through two defenders; Ricciardo Calafiori and Gabriel Magalhaes, before Leandro Trossard’s foolish red card condemned his teammates to a second half of parking the bus.
Arsenal did so sensationally well until John Stones popped up with a matter of moments left to rescue a 2-2 draw for his team.
So, in a game of incredible highs and incredible lows, it was Trossard or Michael Oliver depending on your persuasion who was to blame.
Trossard’s performance vs Man City
Since signing from Brighton in a bargain £27m deal back in January 2023, the Belgian has been a force for the Gunners.
Only Bukayo Saka scored more than Trossard’s haul of 17 in all completions for Arsenal last season and after finding the net against Aston Villa in match week two, it looked as though he was set another captivating year in front of goal.
Well, perhaps let’s think again, shall we? The winger has been hit or miss this season and you can hardly blame an element of ineffectiveness over his last few matches. Playing out of position in a more central role in the absence of injured Martin Odegaard, it’s not been a triumphant time.
The Belgium international was pretty anonymous against the Lilywhites last week and was just as poor, if not worse, at the Etihad on Sunday.
He spurned a glorious first-half chance after meeting Gabriel Martinelli’s cutback and then came a moment of madness.
Just a matter of weeks ago he had seen teammate Declan Rice sent off for ‘delaying the restart’ and the same eventuality fell Trossard’s way this weekend, heaving the ball forward despite Oliver having already blown his whistle for a free-kick.
The referee whipped out a yellow card and as it was a second caution swiftly handed him a red for his troubles. Like Rice, he’d been made to pay the price for kicking the ball away. This time there could be no excuse..
It wasn’t as though he was having a particularly great afternoon before that, failing to win any of his individual duels and unsurprisingly boasting fewer touches (11) than goalkeeper David Raya (52).
So, what happens next? Well, Trossard is now suspended for the League Cup tie with Bolton Wanderers in midweek.
He is back for the match with Leicester next weekend but shouldn’t keep his place following a display that GOAL reporter Charles Watts suggested warranted a dismal 3/10 match rating.
Trossard’s best replacement
With Odegaard still nursing his ankle injury then the clash with both Bolton in a few days time and the Premier League fixture with Leicester next weekend represents the ideal chance to give Ethan Nwaneri his first senior start for the club.
Appearing aged 15 in the Premier League, coming off the bench against Brentford in 2022, he is now 17 and widely regarded as one of the hottest young talents in the country.
#1 Ethan Nwaneri
15 years, 5 months, 28 days
2022: Brentford
#2 Cesc Fabregas
16 years, 5 months, 24 days
2003: Rotherham
#3 Jack Wilshere
16 years, 8 months, 12 days
2008: Blackburn
#4 Jermaine Pennant
16 years, 10 months, 15 days
1999: Middlesbrough
#5 Paul Vaessen
16 years, 11 months, 11 days
1978: Lokomotive Leipzig
#6 Ryan Smith
16 years, 11 months, 18 days
2003: Rotherham
#7 Gedion Zelalem
16 years, 11 months, 29 days
2014: Coventry
#8 Armand Traore
17 years, 16 days
2006: West Brom
A fleeting four-minute substitute display in the north London derby are all the minutes he’s played in 2024/25 but there is surely no better time to finally integrate him and unleash the young Englishman than over the club’s next two fixtures.
So, why is Nwaneri such a promising young player? Well, he possesses that rare gift of making something happen out of nothing. For those of an Arsenal persuasion, let’s call it the Odegaard gene.
Capable of unlocking a defence by simply finding the net himself or by weaving his magic to pick out a teammate, the teenager seemingly has it all and is ready to take the Premier League by storm.
The Odegaard role is perfect for him, playing off the right side but occupying central areas that helped him achieve the best part of 18 goals and four assists in youth action last term.
It would be too far to say this is now or never for Nwaneri but it is important for him to get a footing and feel for the Premier League on a regular basis now.
Hailed as an “outstanding internal solution” by analyst Ben Mattinson, that’s precisely what he could prove to be as Arsenal look to solve not just Trossard’s red card but their gutting Odegaard blow.
Against the newly promoted Leicester, the England youth international could finally earn a chance to impress. He certainly deserves to after their Belgian’s moment of madness on Sunday.
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