On the opening day of the 2024/25 season, it took Leandro Trossard just two minutes to score with his first touch after replacing the ineffective Gabriel Martinelli. His lack of celebration came as no surprise to Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, who said: “When you don’t get picked, there are certain ways to react. Leo is upset but he channels that.”
Embed from Getty ImagesIt was Trossard’s 14th Premier League goal for Arsenal and his sixth as a substitute, a scoring rate of 43%, higher than any other player off the bench who scored at least 10 goals for the club. He has been the Gunner’s savior time and time again off the bench but is he more than a super-sub? Does Trossard deserve to start over Martinelli?
In this article, INMR explores the key statistical differences between both wingers, and if Trossard’s consistent impact as a substitute warrants a starting spot in Arteta’s squad.
Embed from Getty ImagesTo compare the Arsenal duo fairly, the stats will be measured on a per 90 minutes basis unless stated otherwise, as Martinelli played over 400 more Premier League minutes last season.
Goal Contributions
Trossard has undoubtedly been more clinical in front of goal, making a difference almost every time he comes off the bench. In the league last season, Trossard scored 12 goals whilst Martinelli scored just six. Not much separates the pair on shot accuracy though, with Trossard only just ahead by 2.2%.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Belgian does have one impressive stat that highlights his ruthlessness in front of goal more than any other: goals per shot. Last season in the Premier League, Trossard’s goal per shot ratio was 1:5. However, Martinelli bettered him on assists with five compared to Trossard’s two, suggesting the Brazilian is a more creative player than Trossard, which we’ll delve deeper into later on.
Dribbling and Ball Progression
Despite Trossard’s superior goal record, Martinelli is better when travelling with the ball. In the league last season he averaged 5.66 progressive carries, 3.66 carries into the penalty area and 132.88 yards covered during progressive carries, highlighting his ability to drive forward with the ball starting the move, rather than being the one to finish them.
Embed from Getty ImagesTrossard averaged just 3.6, 1.47, and 94.53 yards in those metrics respectively. However, when it comes to one-on-one’s, Trossard comes out on top by some way, although he does attempt less take-ons with just 2.57 compared to Martinelli’s 5.08. Trossard beats his man 1.36 times giving him a success rate of 52.9%, whereas Martinelli beats his man 1.78 times giving him a success rate of 35%.
The Belgian winger also has a far higher dribble success rate of 61% compared to Martinelli’s 39.6%, so whilst Trossard moves with the ball a lot less, he is purposeful and efficient when he does.
Out of possession
It’s important to take a look at these two wingers when Arsenal don’t have the ball to get an idea of their intensity in pressing and how well they read the game to win the ball back quickly. It’s fairly level between the pair across the four metrics, as they each top two of them.
Embed from Getty ImagesLast season in the league, Martinelli won 1.07 tackles per 90 (80% success rate) and won 109 duels all season, compared to Trossard who only won 0.87 tackles per 90 (59.3% success rate) and won just 77 duels all season. This suggests that when Arsenal lose the ball, Martinelli works a lot harder to help his side win it back, whereas Trossard has a more relaxed approach when challenging his opponents.
However, Trossard does better Martinelli in stats that highlight his ability to counter press and anticipate the opponents next move. He averaged 0.44 interceptions and 0.55 tackles in the final third per match last season. Martinelli on the other hand, averaged just 0.22 interceptions and 0.4 tackles in the final third.
Embed from Getty ImagesTrossard’s ability to press immediately from the front and read the game so well makes up for his potential laziness in other areas of the pitch when out of possession. The reasoning for this could be down to his high volume of appearances off the bench, where he is much fresher than his tired opponents who can’t keep up with his intensity late on in matches.
Creative Output
We’ve taken a look very briefly at both players creativity by way of assists but there’s far more to it than that. Yes, Martinelli has a higher creative output than Trossard but what are the key metrics that define that?
First of all: key passes, Martinelli averages 2.05 key passes compared to Trossard’s 1.31, meaning the Brazilian is making many more meaningful passes over a season leading to big chances for his teammates to score.
Embed from Getty ImagesIn terms of shot creating actions, Martinelli averages 0.55 more per game than Trossard with 4.1 and 0.53 of those come from a successful take-on. This showcases Martinelli’s ability to quickly make a good decision in front of goal to give his team the best chance of getting a shot away. In contrast, Trossard has less moments where he creates a moment for his teammates to have shot, instead he is usually the one waiting to have the shot himself.
Among many Arsenal fans, there is the illusion that Trossard is a better distributor of the ball when it comes to crossing, but the stats show Martinelli also betters him in this area too. The 23-year-old averages 4.86 crosses each match and 25.7% of those are successful, Trossard, however, averages just 3.11 and only 17.5% find a teammate.
Embed from Getty ImagesInvolvement in Dangerous Areas
Finally, let’s compare Martinelli and Trossard’s involvement in advanced areas of the pitch. Trossard doesn’t like to burst into those areas, but he is effective in them. Martinelli is both, he drives forward into the danger areas and also makes brilliant movements without the ball so teammates can find him.
Martinelli received 15.38 progressive passes per 90 last season, Trossard received just 8.46 suggesting Martinelli gets in better areas for other Arsenal players to play him in on goal. Martinelli’s pace could be a factor here, as many Arsenal players opt to send long balls over to the wings when Martinelli is playing as they know he can run onto them, whereas Trossard doesn’t possess as much sprint speed.
Embed from Getty ImagesAdditionally, Martinelli’s touches in the final third and penalty area are much higher than Trossard’s. Martinelli averaged 37.62 and 8.74 respectively, compared to Trossard’s 27.4 and 6.6.
It’s clear these three metrics support earlier findings that Trossard is much more suited to being the player finishing moves rather than having a lot to do during the build up.
Embed from Getty ImagesConclusion
Overall it appears that Martinelli is better across most areas of the pitch, the standout for Trossard is his anticipation and knack for popping up in key moments, but he doesn’t get involved and provide as many goal-scoring opportunities as Martinelli.
Therefore it’s fair to keep Trossard as the second choice to capitilise on tired legs in the final 20-30 minutes of matches as he did against Aston Villa on the opening day of the 2024/25 season.
With Raheem Sterling now an option on the left flank too Mikel Arteta has plenty to think about, but the data shows that Martinelli is the most well-rounded player and deserves to keep his place in the starting line-up this season.
Embed from Getty ImagesWritten by Isabelle Newnham
INMR FOOTBALL 
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