Arsenal sign Leandro Trossard from Brighton

Arsenal moved on very quickly from the disappointment of missing out on Mudryk to sign Leandro Trossard from Brighton.

The Mudryk incident would not doubt have left the club and fans feeling dejected, particularly as the player had expressed a preference to join Mikel Arteta’s young team. His decision to go to Chelsea, though a strange one, is understandable. Money answers to all calls.

Arsenal had to find a solution to a position they still needed to fill, someone to fill in for Saka or Martinelli if either suffered injury, and that is exactly what the club has done. Leandro Trossard at 28 is six years younger than Mudryk, but at £26m is a much cheaper option. He has the added advantage of almost three years experience of playing in the Premier League. He may not have the speed of Mudryk, but he is a very capable player. Ask Liverpool fans. He is also able to fill in for Odegaard if required.

I think it’s fair to say this came as a surprise to everyone. The new broke on Thursday when various media houses, including Daily Mail and the Independent and blogs including Arsenal Station began to write about the possibility of the player joining Arsenal. There were several publications that were critical of the signing. Daily Express claimed that the club was shifting from the policies of Arsene Wenger, by signing more players from Premier League teams. Daily Express may want to remind themselves that Arsene Wenger left over 4 years ago and Arteta is capable of developing his own strategy. Others pointed to his attitude because of his fallout with Brighton manager De Zerbi. Most publications were positive about the signing of Trossard. In Sky Sports ‘The Transfer Show’, Kaveh Solhekol commented that this was less of a risk for Arsenal than the signing of Mudryk. Don Hutchinson in ESPN’s Gab and Juls show described it as a good move for Arsenal and for the player.

Trossard is a good signing for Arsenal because of his Premier League experience and his good performance against the so called bug six teams. He will not be an automatic starter in a team where 9 of the starting 11 are established, but he is a potent player to come off the bench. He will also get some starts where the manager may feel that one of his attacking trio of Saka, Martinelli and Odegaard need a rest. He has also proved that he is able to play well against the big six. Trossard is likely to be on the bench on Sunday against Manchester United.

Arsenal are looking at other players and are said to be close to completing the signing of Jakub Kiwior from Serie A side Spezia.