KINYANJUI: Why Leandro Trossard is a Great Signing for Arsenal

After weeks of watching endless clips of Mykaylo Mudryk online, Arsenal fans were left to watch in pain as rivals Chelsea swooped to sign the explosive Ukrainian winger.

As he was presented as a Chelsea player at half time in their 1-0 victory over Palace, aprevious post of mine was published on this platform.

In the article, I explained in detail why Arsenal probably dodged a bullet by not signing a relatively raw player like him for such a hyperbolic fee.

Naturally, missing out on the Mudryk meant Arsenal turned their eyes on another target in what appears to be a clear bid to boost their squad depth.

On Thursday, the Gunners agreed a deal with Brighton to seal a deal for Belgian forward Leandro Trossard, and are also close to tying down a deal for Polish defender Jakub Kiwior.

To many fans, Trossard may not have been the ideal signing. However, he ticks a lot of sensible boxes in Arsenal’s surprise title challenge.

It begs the question; is Trossard a better deal for the gunners? Here, explain why Arsenal fans have reason to remain optimistic.

Good Back-up Plans

Since Mikel Arteta took charge of the club, most of the players he has signed have turned out to be successful. Even after missing out on first choice targets, the second choice incomings have proven to be just as good if not better than the initial targets.

What could have been David Raya, Jules Kounde, Lisandro Martinez and Dusan Vlahovic are now Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus.

Arsenal’s position at the top of the Premier League table owes a lot to their precision approach to recruitment over the past couple of seasons. The club have been very specific about their targets (and indeed, their second-choice targets).

Trossard may turn out to be another success.

Will not need much time to adapt

Arsenal have shown they value experience in the Premier League given their recent signings. Gabriel Jesus, Olexandr Zinchenko and Ben White had Premier League experience prior to joining Arsenal. And Trossard featured in the English top-flight since 2019.

Trossard has been accustomed to front-foot football while at Brighton. On top of that, he is brilliant on the ball. Given his ambidextrous nature, he is adept at playing on either flank and through central positions as well, portraying his versatile nature.

Brighton have also used him through the middle, either as a secondary -striker or in a more withdrawn role. With Gabriel Jesus sidelined with an injury suffered on World Cup duty with Brazil, that ability to play through the middle might afford Eddie Nketiah an occasional rest.

Although he is 28 years old, and is not a signing that is in line with the club’s philosophy of signing players below 25 years, you might argue he is at the ideal age. A young squad also needs the occasional pinch of experience just to sweeten things up.

A ‘Genk’ Connection

Arsenal’s assistant manager, Albert Stuivenberg, was his manager at Genk in 2017, and speaks highly of him.

Although Trossard recently fell out with Brighton head coach, Roberto De Zerbi, Stuivenberg has assuaged any signs of such attitude creeping in.

You might also argue that as an ambitious player, he had sights set on the move. On his twitter page, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano spoke about how he turned down approaches from two other clubs but accepted the Arsenal one.

I will take that kind of attitude all day long. A player like Trossard willing to die to wear the shirt

Momentum

Trossard has been playing like a man possessed this season. He has scored 7 goals and registered 2 assists in 16 appearances this season. To add on that, In October, the Belgian became the first visiting player since Andrey Arshavin for Arsenal in 2009 to score a hat-trick in a league game at Anfield.

Given where Arsenal are in the table, someone on that kind of form would be a plus for the cause. Besides, I believe that to challenge for the title, at least 4 of your attacking option have to net 12 to 15 goals a season.

Most of Arsenal’s goals have come from different sources. Gabriel Jesus is already on 5, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka are tied on 7 goals and Martin Odegaard is already on 8 for the season. Add goals from Eddie Nketiah, Trossard and the now fit again Emile Smith Rowe, and you have more reason for optimism as an Arsenal fan.

So far in 2022-23, Arsenal have shown on the pitch that they have learnt from the end of last season. Perhaps their efforts to sign Trossard are an indication they are learning off the pitch too. After failing to land their main targets a year ago, they chose to end the January window without making a signing — a decision that cost them dear in the run-in.

Trossard would not be many Arsenal supporters’ dream signing — but the club have reasoned he could help them towards the dream of the title.