Jak Netting

In a deal that has moved exponentially quickly, Arsenal have now reached an agreement with Brighton & Hove Albion for the transfer of Leandro Trossard for a fee believed to be in the region of £26m including add ons, as reported by Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mirror. I’m going to look at how this transfer came about and, crucially, what he brings to Arsenal and how he could aid their title fight.

After missing out on João Félix, who joined London rivals Chelsea on loan for a fee higher than Arsenal were willing to match, and having their deal to sign Mykhaylo Mudryk hijacked at the eleventh hour by… none other than Chelsea again, Arsenal were running out of options, and time, to reinforce their squad during this transfer window. They had enquired about Bayern Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby, but were quoted a fee of around £100m for the 23-year-old Frenchman – effectively pricing them out of a potential move. While all of this had been going on, there was a rather public falling out between new Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi and Belgian forward Leandro Trossard unfolding.

Trossard has reportedly been banished from first team training by De Zerbi, after the player’s agent put out a statement accusing the Italian manager of bullying and humiliating his client – claims which he has denied. Instead he stated that, since returning from a disappointing World Cup campaign with Belgium, the forward hasn’t given his all in training or in matches – and went on to suggest that he was showing a lack of respect for the club and De Zerbi himself. Since then, he left the U.K. without the permission of his club – heading to his homeland of Belgium via the Eurostar. He has just 6 months left on his Brighton contract, though Brighton do hold the option to extend this by a further 12 months if they so wish, which means his value was already depleted and Brighton were willing to cash in – but this falling out has only made the situation worse, with Trossard’s agent publicly suggesting that a transfer away from the club this month is the only solution to the problem. So why do Arsenal want the out-of-favour forward?

First of all I’d like to address those who have labelled the move as nothing but desperation after missing out on their key targets. While he certainly wasn’t their primary target, nor their second choice, for this transfer window, they have been following Trossard since before he even joined Brighton – while he was still at Genk.

While a move never materialised and he ended up in a Brighton shirt, the Gunners clearly admired him and have no doubt monitored his progress in the years subsequent. Having achieved double figures for goal involvements in his last two full seasons, and currently enjoying his best start to a Premier League campaign to date, with 7 goal and 2 assists after just 16 appearances so far this season, it’s no surprise that the Gunners revisited their interest and bought him to the Emirates stadium to bolster what is admittedly a thin squad. Not only this, but he was available at a good price due to his aforementioned falling out, and didn’t command a crazy wage, which is very appealing when looking at your third or fourth choice target.

In terms of ability, Trossard really can’t be questioned. He’s spent three and a half years operating in a very fast-paced Brighton team – very similar to the tempo and intensity that Mikel Arteta has instilled at Arsenal in recent years. This season he has exceeded his expected goals (xG) by 2.5, which shows how clinical of a finisher he is. He’s also underachieved in terms of expected assists (xA) which suggests that, with better players around him, he could increase his output even further. He’s averaged around 2.5 crosses per 90 minutes this season as well as over 1.5 key passes per 90 minutes – which only further proves his attacking ability. As for Arsenal’s system, Trossard is able to play anywhere across the front three – meaning he can provide cover and rest for all of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah (as well as Gabriel Jesus when he returns from injury), while he could potentially battle for a starting place too. Despite his crossing stats, he is also a player who likes to cut inside, averaging almost 1.5 shots on target per 90 minutes, and boasts a 28% shot conversion rate which, for context, is 13.42% better than three-time golden boot winner Mohamed Salah (with a shot conversion rate of 14.58%), and level with Tottenham Hotspur’s soon-to-be all-time record goalscorer Harry Kane – so he’s in good company.

I won’t gloss over the percieved negatives of Trossard’s signing, to which there are a couple. A key area of concern has been his passing. While he boasts a pass success rate of 74%, he averages just 24 successful passes per 90 minutes. You may see this as too low to fit a fast-tempo system like Arteta’s, but you would be mistaken. Martinelli and Saka have averaged 24 and 27 successful passes per 90 minutes respectively, very similar numbers to those of Trossard. Much has also been made of his age, having just turned 28, with many saying he is too old and not a typical Arsenal signing of recent years. But the fact is that, at 28, he has only just entered his prime, and could easily maintain and even raise his level over the next 4-5 years at least. In fact two of Arsenal’s most important players this season have been Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey, who are 30 and 29 respectively – proving that at 28, Trossard’s best years could yet be ahead of him.

Another area of concern among Arsenal fans has been his supposed attitude issues, and these concerns are, admittedly, justified. Given Arsenal’s recent issues with player fallouts like Mesut Özil, Matteo Guendouzi and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – who infamously flew to Barcelona to force through a move, fans will be wary of signing a player with a history of attitude problems. While talk of his attitude in training and matches are hard to prove or disprove, it is hard to ignore the fact that he left the U.K. without his club’s permission and released a statement, via his agent, attacking his manager. The fact is that only time will tell whether these issues surface again and go on to impact any sort of legacy that he could otherwise leave at Arsenal. A point that I think Arsenal fans can find comfort in, however, is that Arteta has a history of difficult players, like Aubameyang, and almost certainly wouldn’t sanction a move for a player if he didn’t believe in his ability to manage them well.

While his signing may understandably seem underwhelming to previous targets like Mudryk, Félix and Diaby, it is a very sensible and strong addition to the Arsenal squad ahead of arguably their most important second half of a season in over a decade – as they look to win their first Premier League title in 19 years. Because of this underwhelming feeling, it is easy to forget that he averages almost 0.5 goals per 90 minutes which puts him amongst the best players in the league.

In summary, while I can’t predict how his Arsenal career will pan out, Leandro Trossard is a superb signing for the Gunners. Not only does he posses great ability and represent brilliant value for money, but spending around £70m less on a winger now will allow the club to spend more in the summer ahead of their first UEFA Champions League campaign since the 2016/17 season – with West Ham’s Declan Rice being a reported target. And with all of this combined there is very little risk in the deal for a player who is already proven and established in the Premier League.

What do you think about this transfer, is it enough to get Arsenal over the line in their title fight? Let me know in the comments below!