‘Wasn’t good enough’… Ian Wright critical of £27m Arsenal player after second-half moment vs Man City

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Ian Wright has criticised one Arsenal star after the draw with Manchester City, noting that he did not do well enough when the Gunners had the chance to create a golden opportunity for Gabriel Martinelli.

Arsenal missed the chance to make a massive statement and move back to the top of the Premier League table. But on another day, it could have been very different.

The Gunners had their openings, with Gabriel Jesus coming agonising close to scoring on a few occasions. But there is little question that Arsenal were not able to find the quality which saw them blow teams away in the early stages of 2024.

Martin Odegaard’s passing was off for much of the game. And the players who came off the bench were unable to make the kind of impact Gabriel Martinelli did when he came off the bench in the reverse fixture at the Emirates earlier this year.

Ian Wright critical of Arsenal player after late opportunity

But perhaps he should have had the opportunity to be the hero again. Unfortunately, Leandro Trossard was unable to make the most of the chance as Arsenal launched a late break.

Speaking on Wrighty’s House, Ian Wright noted that the Belgian should have done a lot better.

“When we broke towards the end with Trossard, he’s got to play that. His first touch wasn’t good enough. He’s got to get that out of his feet and he puts that right across to Martinelli to come in,” he said.

Forward had tough task getting up to speed in tense game

Trossard has been such a smart signing for Arsenal. It did not appear to capture the imagination when the 29-year-old was signed for £27 million as Mikel Arteta’s side challenged for the Premier League.

But he has scored 12 goals and provided 12 assists in all competitions for the Gunners. That includes 10 goals across the Premier League and Champions League this season.

He has come up with a number of key goals already, including the equaliser in the tie with Porto which set the stage for Arsenal to book their quarter-final spot in the Champions League.

But it cannot be easy to get up to speed in that kind of game, particularly as the tension built and built as the full-time whistle loomed.

And that may explain why he was unable to make the most of that golden opportunity on Sunday.