Micah Richards praises Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta for 'brilliant' Leandro Trossard decision

By Milo Clay

Micah Richards has told BBC Radio 5 Live that he was so impressed with Mikel Arteta’s decision to play Leandro Trossard as a striker on Saturday. 

The Gunners picked up an important 1-0 win against Leicester City over the weekend to keep their hopes of lifting the Premier League title firmly on track. 

Gabriel Martinelli scored the winning goal after linking up brilliantly with Trossard down the left-hand side. 

Arteta sprung a surprise by naming the former Brighton man as a false nine at the King Power Stadium, with Eddie Nketiah dropping to the bench. 

Trossard performed well in his new role and the move certainly seemed to benefit Martinelli as the pair often rotated to make Arsenal’s attacking play more fluid. 

The Belgian was unlucky not to grab a goal on the day after his brilliant finish was disallowed by the VAR officials in the first-half. 

And Richards has praised Arteta for making an ‘impressive’ decision with Trossard on Saturday. 

Richards praises Arteta over Trossard decision 

Speaking on the BBC’s Monday Night Club, Richards says the front-three of Trossard, Martinelli and Bukayo Saka worked a treat on the day. 

“It was such an impressive move to play Trossard as a false nine because his link up play is always on the half turn, he always plays the right pass and then it allows Martinelli and Saka to make them runs inside or over the top,” the Manchester City legend said. 

“I just thought tactically it was brilliant because all we have been talking about at Arsenal is that ‘oh well with Jesus injured is Nketiah up to it?’

“Now they have a completely different option. Obviously he has learnt with Pep and what he brings to the table in terms of how to adapt and how he’s adapting with Arsenal with the players he has and it’s just brilliant to see, because now they have more options which gives them a greater chance for the rest of the season.” 

Trossard has settled into his new role at Arsenal with ease after making the £27 million switch to north London in January. 

He was brought in to provide Arteta with a quality alternative to his existing options and he’s providing exactly that at this moment in time. 

The 28-year-old has now started consecutive games in the Premier League for Arsenal and after his display against Leicester, Nketiah now faces a battle to get back into Arteta’s side.