Mikel Arteta refused to get too despondent after a 1-1 draw against Brentford (Picture: Sky Sports)
Mikel Arteta hailed the ‘courage’ of Leandro Trossard after the January signing stake an impressive case to start Wednesday’s crucial Premier League clash against Manchester City.
The Gunners spurned the chance to move eight points clear of the reigning champions after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Thomas Frank’s in-form side at the Emirates Stadium.
After a frustrating opening period, Arsenal sprung into life after the re-start but it took until the 64th minute for the deadlock to be broken.
Trossard had only been on the field for four minutes but was on hand to prod home his first goal for his new club following his move from Brighton.
Unfortunately for the Belgium international, Ivan Toney’s controversial equaliser denied him and his side a valuable victory that would have piled the pressure on City ahead of their game against Aston Villa tomorrow.
Arteta, however, was delighted with Trossard’s contribution from the bench and has been impressed with how quickly he has settled in.
‘This is what we see every single day in training,’ Arteta told Arsenal Media after the game.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
‘I think the contribution he’s had in the game, with the minutes that he has played, has been really good.
‘And it’s great to have a player that when you put them in the game, you have a feeling that something is going to happen. He brings a lot of courage when the game is like this, to take the ball and go for it.’
Overall though the Arsenal manager said he was ‘frustrated and disappointed’ at the final whistle.
‘Yes, because we wanted the three points,” he said.
‘We made the most difficult thing which was going ahead, scoring against a team which was super low and with a lot of players committed in the by-line. After a while we just had to continue to dominate the game and go for the second one.
‘During that period, we conceded an unfortunate and unnecessary free kick, at least in terms of the set play. The way they play, everything is set plays, and then you need to apply the principles within the rules to be as efficient as possible.’
MORE : Thomas Frank makes confident Premier League title prediction after Brentford hold Arsenal
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The Gunners boss saw one major positive.
