Leandro Trossard proving Arsenal's best signing of the Arteta era

It is no secret that Leandro Trossard was not Arsenal’s first-choice option to bolster their attacking ranks. Yet, despite being second choice, he’s probably one of the signings of the Mikel Arteta era.  

Credit goes to those at the club but Chelsea played their part too and that should not be forgotten.  

The Gunners wanted Mykhailo Mudryk and it is safe to assume the Ukraine international wanted a move to the Emirates. The Blues, however, complicated matters and eventually paid a staggering £62m to pry him away from Shakhtar Donetsk. Arsenal didn’t dwell on this though and quickly pivoted their attention the way of Trossard. Coincidentally, the Belgian had been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge earlier on in the January transfer window.  

At the time, it seemed as though Arsenal had been forced into a stop-gap solution.  

Trossard and Mudryk shared a number of traits; both are versatile and can play across the forward line and both possess pace, but, at the time, the Belgium international was 28 while Mudryk was just 22. The latter was someone who could grow and develop alongside the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka whereas the former was probably at the peak of his powers. 

He could do a job now for a team lacking depth in attack but could he play a part for a team looking to take that next step up?  

Few knew it at the time, but he’s rather emphatically put to bed any doubts that he was nothing more than a short-term solution.  

With five games to go, Arsenal are top of the Premier League table and the £20m January 2023 signing has played a pivotal part in this.  

With the Gunners on a three-match winless streak and now out of the Champions League, they needed a spark against Wolves on Saturday evening to ensure their season didn’t end abruptly in disappointment. With the hosts digging in deep and frustrating Mikel Arteta’s side, it appeared as though it would be 0-0 at half time until Trossard sliced the ball into the top corner to break the deadlock in the 45th minute.  

They needed that moment. They needed that slice of luck, literally.  

Trossard has been someone who has delivered big moments for the Gunners this season. The No.19 scored the winner against Everton, he netted the equaliser against Chelsea to keep Arsenal’s then unbeaten start to the season intact, he scored and assisted in the 3-1 win over Burnley and killed Liverpool off at the Emirates with the third goal in stoppage time. The former Brighton man scored the winner against Porto, netted the all-important equaliser against Bayern Munich and then opened the scoring in a 2-0 win over Wolves when Arenal needed those three points.  

Arteta singled out the 29-year-old for praise following the win on Saturday night, saying: "Trossard, great player. He's a little magician. He can score on any surface and he's a big threat; so composed, so cool, he can play in different positions. It's just a joy to have him in the team. 

"I think the timing of the first goal was really helpful as well. [I am ] really happy." 

The goal at Molineux was his ninth of the season in the Premier League. Only Saka (14) has more for the Gunners in the English top-flight this term. Remarkably, Trossard’s return of 10 goal involvements have come in just 1,287 minutes. He’s not been a regular for the title hopefuls but he always seems to deliver. Those players are worth their weight in gold when you are competing at the business end of the season. They, obviously, play their part in ensuring teams have something to play for at the business end of the season, too.  

The fleet-footed attacker also played his part in their Champions League run as well, scoring four goals and assisting on one occasion across 534 minutes. He actually has many goals for Arsenal in the Champions League as Mudryk has goals for Chelsea in the Premier League. Trossard has arguably been Arsenal’s most underappreciated player this term and he’s only there because Todd Boehly decided he had to have Mudryk. It was a sliding doors moment for the Gunners, they just didn’t realise it at the time.