Leandro Trossard has scored 19 goals and had 12 assists in 71 appearances for Arsenal. He joined the Gunners in January 2023 after leaving Brighton. Since then, the Belgian striker, although not a starting factor, has always played a very important role in Mikel Arteta's plans.
Earlier this week, Al-Ittihad submitted a loan offer to Trossard with a buy-in clause after the 2024-2025 season. For now, Arsenal have refused even though Trossard will turn 30 in December. Keeping a stable star is the right thing to do, but The Gunners need to have long-term calculations so as not to waste human resources.
Last season, Trossard only started 18 of his 38 Premier League games, but he was Arsenal's second-most substitute with 16 times, behind Eddie Nketiah once. Trossard scored 6/14 goals when he came on as a substitute. In the second round of the Premier League, after scoring against Aston Villa, Trossard said: "Everyone wants to start".
This forced Arteta to consider. When asked about Trossard's statement, Arteta said that the Belgian striker, although quite sad because he was not a starts, was extremely professional in attitude. The Spaniard added that Trossard's entry and scoring in such a way is an example of professionalism for other players to learn from.
After Declan Rice received a red card in the draw with Brighton, Gabriel Jesus and Mikel Merino are still injured, including Leandro Trossard in the starting lineup is something Mikel Arteta should consider. The clubs are in 2 weeks off for FIFA Days and if they do this calculation, Arteta will have time to prepare.
Currently, the "Gunners" center forward position is largely reserved for Kai Havertz. The German striker has scored 2 goals since the beginning of the tournament. Last season, 8/13 of Havertz's goals came from playing as a centre-forward. However, in the two games Havertz dropped to play as an attacking midfielder and Trossard started last season, The Gunners won big. Those were 6-0 against West Ham and 5-0 against Burnley.
At that time, instead of using Havertz as a left winger, Arteta paired Havertz and Trossard together to form an effective attacking duo. With Gabriel Martinelli and new signing Raheem Sterling both playing wide, recreating the Trossard - Havertz pair taking turns getting into the opponent's penalty area to score is not impossible.
If they keep Trossard, Arsenal need to show their vision in how to increase the Belgian striker's influence. In the context that Jesus is still injured and if he returns, he is not sure to play well, rotating Havertz and Trossard is the best way for Arteta to keep the transformation of the attack.
Trossard will leave Arsenal one day but maybe not right now. On the contrary, the team also needs to calculate a reasonable strategy so that when that comes, both sides will benefit if they no longer continue to stick together.
