Why Trossard makes sense by Peter Doherty
Every Arsenal fan has expressed a level of anxiety over the lack of cover available to our forward line after Jesus and Nelson’s injuries. It was agreed that cover was required in order not to derail our unexpected title charge. The Arsenal hierarchy obviously felt the same and resulted in their lengthy public, but ultimately fruitless pursuit, of Mudryk.
Mudryk ticked a lot of boxes. He had versatility in roles across the front line and fitted the age profile of recent signings made by the club. But he also brought considerable concern. There was the astronomical fee, one that would blow the clubs budget for this window and likely restrict it in the next. He was a unproven raw talent at our level, and we have discovered to our cost in the past that in the cauldron of the Premier League what emerges is more of the rawness and less of the talent. So there was justifiable trepidation over the potential transfer.
It seemed that what Arsenal needed was a versatile attacker with proven Premier League experience that didn’t cost the earth. Step forward Leandro Trossard. In the first half of this season and the end of the last, Trossard became a very significant player in an impressively dynamic Brighton team. Before the World Cup he scored seven goals and had three assists in twelve games. A very healthy return by any standard, but particularly in a Brighton team renowned for low scoring.
Although primarily a left winger his position in Brighton was frequently fluid and he acted as playmaker on multiple occasions. The Brighton team he played in was an exponent of give and go football, creating movement and options with quick passing and constant motion, not dissimilar to the Arsenal model. So it’s all good, or is it?
It would be remiss of Arsenal not to give our fans cause for concern because that is what we have become accustomed to! First there is the age profile. Many fans are concerned that he doesn’t fit the age bracket of the majority if his team mates. But Trossard has just turned 28. This means from an athletic perspective he is entering the prime of his career. It is determined that physically footballers peak between 27 and 30. His maturity gives him a wealth of experience and crucially a lot of it in the Premier League
Secondly is his attitude. This has been called into question publicly by De Zerbi. Very publicly in fact, in a fashion that is questionable as it is normally a prudent and helpful policy to sort out problems in house.
Nevertheless De Zerbi put it out there and it’s seems as if a resolution will not be forthcoming as Trossard’s agent has said that he felt disrespected by this public pronouncement. Which is unsurprising as it was a bizarre outburst from the Brighton boss. But it creates the impression that Trossard has a bad attitude. Prior to these events there was no rumblings about Trossard emanating form the Brighton camp under Potter so it would suggest that there might be a personality clash. But the suspicion remains.
Well if there is one man who would be familiar with Trossard’s personality it would be Albert Stuivenberg. Albert had Trossard under his tutelage for a year when he was the manager of Genk so he would be very familiar with the player. If there was a whiff of potential unrest then he would certainly steer Arsenal away from any potential pursuit.
Alternatively, if he thought the situation was one that could work to Arsenal’s advantage then he would be the driving force behind the move. Stuivenberg remains the unsung heroes in Arsenal’s resurgence. An incisive thinker with an impressive coaching pedigree he is the foil and support for Arteta, and if you watch the bench every coaching decision Arteta makes is done with Albert’s input. If he says Trossard is worth it then who are we to doubt it.
Peter Doherty
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It’s all opinions BUT I rate Trossard as Arsenal ready. He can play so many positions and is intelligent like Odegaard and Zinchenko. He can keep us in the battle against City and Utd. Makes me more happy than Mudryk.
Completely agree…Mudryk way overpriced
Bit worried about his behaviour at Brighton but if the manager thinks he wants the player and get best out of him who are we to question. One thing for sure he is proven PL quality and not going to cost us an arm n leg. We need a DM for sure If we want to win the title otherwise we will be relying on luck that Party does not get injured for rest of whole season. So now we have more fire power with Trossard, ESR back from injury and Jesus well on his way to back. Future is bright and it’s red.
Trossard can be our new Alexis Sanchez…..not joking.
in good way or bad, or both?
Can’t say I am excited about this possible transfer.
But Arteta, Edu and Josh Kroenke have done extremely well in building the team, we see now, and if they think this is the right move now, then go ahead and let’s see.
Im quite the opposite and happy with Trossard, great player and cheap aswell
Rashid80
Very good player. Agree.
Yes trodsard is a good player more of a big game player even
Expected answer. Zzzzz….
This transfer seems to be more of an immediate solution to our problem of having a light squad.
We mustn’t forget we are still on the projection of turning over this squad into a squad of talent (in each area of the pitch). But the fact we are probably 16 wins away from winning the league means this signing is occuring rather then 90m on Diaby (yet wouldn’t be adjusted to arsenal style nor league to have any impact)
There is talk maybe it’s to help put cash towards Rice in the summer.
All I know is that if we signed Trossard before this current squad assembly then I would be concerned, because Trossard would likely be a starter alongside ozil, Auba and Laca..
Rather then now, where Trossard off the bench just shows how far we have come in a short time.
Glad to hear Stuivenberg worked with Trossard at Genk. That should make his transition smoother and might make him behave in the first few years at Arsenal
Trossard’s age makes him an ideal competitor for Martinelli and Nelson, because they’ll be at their prime ages by the time Trossard becomes too old to press high up the pitch
He is also a highly experienced LW, so they will learn a lot from him, as Nketiah did from Lacazette, Aubameyang and Jesus. Another option is Elanga, but I doubt Man United would like to sell him to a main rival
GAI
This ‘bad boy’ image is pretty false. He thrived under Potter, but Roberto De Zerbi is a wildcard manager…..good but a bit strung out. I doubt if Trossard will be a problem….he is very hungry for success.
I hope so, because he always performed well againts us. Hopefully he won’t be assigned to the right wing as Willian was
Elanga is a No
Even Utd fans don’t want him
He’s still young, so Arsenal coaches might be able to improve his abilities. However, Arsenal need an experienced LW as soon as possible, hence Trossard
Elanga is good but Utd doesn’t use him much..
So I guess Ten Hag thinks either he is not ready or not good enough..
But Elanga has top class speed..
Bursting runs..
Yeah, he was very pacey when running down the right wing. I haven’t seen him play on the left side, but I think he could also play well there
Good move for us, but a shame for BHA who keep losing their best players (not that I read of any complaints from their supporters), but I’d hate to see them in relegation positions because of this. Should be safe for this season though.
Yeah, but it’s funny how they keep coming out better for it. Mitoma is no slouch.
Yeah, they do don’t they. There’s a good chance of losing a couple of the south coast teams this season, so hopefully BHA will continue to fly the flag.
Mitoma, MacAllister, Caicedo… Big money for them all.
Trossard will get some good money and they got £60m for Cucurella & £50m White. They do great business Brighton and always end up with a little gem or 2 they pick up. Good club & play good football, beat alot of the big boys on their run in the league so far since they came up.
I looked at his goals, the guy is very clinical
I think he would be a good addition to an already improving squad. Squad depth is important for any title winning team. He could be the Reyes of invincible signing for this team.
“but particularly in a Brighton team renowned for low scoring.”
BRIGHTON THIS SEASON:
3:3 with Liverpool
5:2 with Leicester
4:1 Chelsea
3:2 Wolves
3:1 Southampton
3:0 Liverpool
4:1 Everton
Teams By Most Goals Scored :
1 Man City
2 Arsenal
3 Tottenham
4 Brighton
They are actually renowned for goal scoring
Had to check that cos they’re my favorite team to bet Over1.5 on
And I ready have this weekends “Leicester – Brighton” down as Over1.5
Any serious analyst feels more comfortable with Trossard than the untested Mudryik who seems to be a creation of the media. If Mudryik had been reasonably priced he would have made sense and maybe nobody would have been worried but spending 100 million pounds on a relatively unknown player would indeed have been very risky. At least now we know what we shall be getting. His Premier league experience will be a great asset. My view is that missing out on Mudryik was a blessing in disguise. Chelsea can have him for a decade but who cares?
The issue of his discipline seems suspect. Why now? He has been at Brighton for a period and had no disciplinary issues.
Great comment and can only agree with what you said .
Trossard announced as agreed on Sky Sports. Subject to medical. Up to 27m Inc add-ons/etc. Much cheaper than Mudpryck and Premier League proven. Nice!
Not bad for 20m possibly rising to 27m.
He is clinical in front of goal and uses both feet quite well. He can also play on both wings but I doubt if he will be well suited there with the way we play. I think he will be more of Nketiah rotation. An interesting signing in my view. Kills a lot of worries for us up front.
Good and reasonable signing. COYG!!
Interesting info re Stuivenberg / Genk. That puts a new slant on it.
Also I found an article where Trossard’s camp put their side of the story re the Di Zerbi training bust-up, saying that he didn’t walk out, he left after consultation with medical staff. They say that Di Zerbi then didn’t speak to Trossard for 4 weeks…
Maybe he’s not as much of a risk as it first seemed.
you are correct. I read the same. The manager may have some personal issues with Trossard.