Ok Leo, all eyes on you now mate.

I know you’ve looked a bit sullen at times, Arteta has talked about how you don’t like it when you’re not playing, so now is your chance to shine because you are basically going to play every possible game between now and the end of the season.

Kai’s absence, along with Gabby’s Martinelli and Jesus, as well as Saka, means that you are the only real first teamer left who is fit. You are the anchor point from which everything will flow.

We know you’re not a Havertz; you aren’t a target man and hopefully Big Dav Raya is lumping Mitre Size Five’s up to you from 60 yards away. That’s not your game. It’s been Arsenal’s game at times and maybe there’s a trick up Mikel’s sleeve whereby Merino adopts that space if we need to go long, but if that happens, you have to be the main man still. That’s because it is you who will need to find pockets of space for which to receive the ball if we do go long. Is that dropping deep so that the Spaniard can lay the ball off to you? Is it going long for a Shearer-esque flick on? I don’t know, you probably do because Mikel would have spoken to you about what he wants to do, but whatever the decision is, I think there isn’t anyone with any skin in the Arsenal game who doesn’t recognise that we need you now more than anyone.

Sterling is a busted flush. Sorry, I know he’s probably great around the training ground, I know you probably get on well with him, but he’s washed. He doesn’t have that burst of pace that he was famed for (understandable given he kicked off his Premier League career at the age of 17; players who go into teams that young often tend to peak earlier and see a decline earlier – take note Ethan), he hasn’t really set anything alight in an Arsenal shirt, so the expectations on him to step up just aren’t there. Maybe he can adopt your position of left wing and that can bear more fruit, but regardless of where he plays, I think we all know you have to be the main man. You’re no Robin to his Batman like it might have seemed that way with Havertz last season – you are the lead character now and we need that main character energy from you tomorrow lunchtime and for the foreseeable future.

If we’re going to be rotating our forward line to create space, you have to be the one who is orchestrating it. You will be that focal point so if you want a five minute switcharoo with Sterling to tell him you want to give it a go wide right, then you do it. You have to tell him that he needs to be ready to move into spaces you vacate and at 17-years-old, you probably need to be that guiding hand with Ethan too. If Arsenal are going to have any success in winning football matches for the remainder of the season, it feels like we’re going to need a very mobile front three; interchanging positions and pulling teams apart if they try to go man-to-man. And it feels like you need to be that man to be starting off any of that movement.

You’re arguably one of the best finishers of the club too, so it’s on the players around you to get into those positions so you can take those chances. Martin will be looking for you from deeper down the pitch. He has a good relationship with Ethan, it seems, so they will interchange and look to set him down the wing, but you’ll need to be there to finish or provide an option for a pass because as great as Ethan is he’s starting to get noticed and he will start to be targeted. He’s got the world at his feet, but he’ll quickly start to be doubled up on, so you need to be there for him.

We’ve noticed your form of late has picked up too, so that’s giving us – the fans – some hope that you can bag the requisite goals. We know it’s not all on you, but we need to see the output upgraded now, because five goals and six assists in 36 games needs to be updated in this final third of the season. We believe you can do it though. Have you set a target? You probably should. I’m thinking that we probably need to see you hit ten goals and 10 – 15 assists at least between now and when Saka and Martinelli return by April. That’s a fair bit to ask for, but we believe in you, we’re all behind you.

It all starts this weekend at Leicester. The Arsenal fanbase were down after the Kai news, they got a bit of an adrenaline hit with Liverpool dropping points, but they need you and your team to show that this Arsenal side has fight and is still in the Premier League conversation. We are down a bit, but you can be a key part of getting everyone involved in Arsenal back up, so let’s see the best version of you tomorrow lunchtime. Let’s hear that “Trossard again ole ole” ringing out in the away end, then let’s hear it every week between now and May when the season finishes.

Go smash it man – we’re all behind you.

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Mikel Arteta speaks to the press today – let’s hope he comes out bullish and buoyant and fighting. We need it. I’ll be back tomorrow with some pre game and post press conference musing tomorrow. We’ll also be doing a Same Old Arsenal podcast straight after the game – just hope it’s a positive one come 3pm.