Mikel Arteta may axe struggling star after Arsenal boss' actions spotted vs Chelsea

incredulous reaction needed no interpretation as the boss collapsed to the floor in the dying moments of their London derby against on Sunday.

The Gunners had twice come within inches of snatching victory at Stamford Bridge. But, perhaps like their title hopes, the , as Leandro Trossard was guilty of fluffing his lines late on.

Having dropped to the bench to make way for the returning captain Martin Odegaard, the 29-year-old had to wait until the 71st minute before he got the call from Arteta to replace goalscorer Gabriel Martinelli. They had conceded an equaliser just moments before after Pedro Neto's long-range strike brought the Blues level.

Trossard's first opportunity arrived with only three minutes to go. Mikel Merino's flick was kept out by Robert Sanchez and the rebound fell to the forward, who only had to keep his effort on target to find the winner.

But he blazed it over the bar, resulting in a collective groan from the away fans. Unfortunately for them, they had no idea that the worst was still to come.

Deep into five minutes of stoppage time, William Saliba found himself in acres of space on the left and the Frenchman sent in a dangerous low cross. Trossard was the first to arrive into the box ahead of Kai Havertz and the Belgian took it upon himself to steer the ball into the far corner, but the contact wasn't strong enough and the ball trickled wide.

A furious Havertz bellowed at him for denying him a simple tap-in. On the touchline, Arteta was picking himself up off the ground - wondering how his side had failed to score.

It might well have been disallowed by VAR for offside if they had scored as replays showed Saliba was near enough level with Levi Colwill, but that will won't provide any solace for the north London side.

Arsenal were forced to settle for a point, but it must've felt like a defeat after squandering the lead and failing to score. It means they have now gone four games without a win for the first time in 19 months, leaving them nine points behind Liverpool at the top.

On the eve of the game in west London, Trossard said he felt they were close to finding their form in front of goal but called on his team-mates to be more clinical.

"There was a similar path last year. People were doubting about scoring and after January we had a spell of five or six games where we were putting five past opponents," he said.

"Every season you have a rough period and it's down to us to get going again. The belief in the team is still really high. We have such great players and we can turn it around quickly."

He added: "In general we are pushing to win games and score goals. It just needs to click and hopefully that will be on Sunday."

It wasn't to be for Arsenal on Sunday, and it certainly wasn't for Trossard, who was left with an egg on his face.

Last season, he was seen as a problem-solver for Arteta, but his recent displays suggest the opposite might now be true this term. He was needlessly sent off against Manchester City, played the poor back-pass that led to Saliba's dismissal against Bournemouth and missed a penalty against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.

After his late miss against Chelsea, Arteta may be tempted to use other players such as 17-year-old wonderkid Ethan Nwaneri instead. He can ill-afford more moments like this if they are to catch Liverpool and City in the title race.