Leandro Trossard was substituted in the first half during Arsenal's win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League and Mikel Arteta gave an update on the forward's condition
Mikel Arteta has revealed that he withdrew Leandro Trossard as a precautionary measure after the forward suffered discomfort during the win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League. Noni Madueke came on for the Belgian international ten minutes before the interval and went on to net the decisive goal after the restart.
Trossard was on the score sheet for the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night, with goals from Jurrien Timber and Gabriel Martinelli securing the victory over the Bundesliga giants. However, concern soon emerged about Trossard's fitness when the Belgium international was withdrawn in the first half.
Arteta said: "With Leo, we don't know. He said he felt something, we didn't want to take any risk, obviously."
The Gunners face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday after in the Premier League, marking the first of five fixtures they must navigate within the next 13 days. Following that encounter, Arsenal welcome Brentford to the Emirates Stadium, before travelling to face Aston Villa and Club Brugge in the Champions League, then hosting Wolverhampton Wanderers in mid-December.
Arsenal's attacking options are already severely limited without Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres, who are all sidelined with injury. Gabriel Magalhaes is another crucial player currently unavailable due to injury.
The defender had featured in every match this season for Arsenal before sustaining an injury whilst on international duty with Brazil, forcing him to miss last Sunday's North London Derby triumph against Tottenham Hotspur. Trossard could now become the latest previously ever-present player to join the treatment room.
The timing proves particularly frustrating given the forward was enjoying his finest spell of the campaign. All three of his Premier League goals have since the Premier League resumed after the October international break.
His performance reached a high point in the 4-1 thrashing of Spurs when he netted the first goal and assisted Eberechi Eze for the fourth. Trossard has bagged five goals and the same number of assists in 16 appearances across all competitions so far this season.
Only Bukayo Saka and Gyokeres have found the back of the net more often, with six goals each, while Declan Rice has just one more assist. Trossard was linked with a move away from Arsenal during the summer transfer window.
Arteta has explained why he was determined to keep the forward at the Emirates despite the speculation. The Gunners manager stated after the North London Derby: "For me, it was forbidden for him [Trossard] to leave.
"No chance. I know the player that he is, and surrounded by the players that we have, he's a player who is going to make a difference for us.
"I fully agree. It was one of the best games, so aggressive with and without the ball, so effective, he could have scored another one or two goals, and he was involved in so many positive actions."