Mikel Arteta has already given his Leandro Trossard fallout verdict amid Arsenal transfer twist
Mikel Arteta has already made his Leandro Trossard Arsenal feelings clear amid transfer interest from Saudi Arabia. On Monday, it was revealed that Al Ittihad submitted a bid to sign him, though the Gunners rejected their proposal and have no intention of letting Trossard leave.
The Belgium international has been at the club for just over 18 months and has come up clutch on a number of occasions. During their Premier League title push last season, Trossard was a regular in the starting XI, which saw him score decisive goals against Manchester United and Liverpool.
Gabriel Martinelli started the first two games of the new season, though the 29-year-old proved a clear point to Arteta in the win against Aston Villa. After replacing Martinelli with 25 minutes to play, Trossard scored just 120 seconds after coming on with the Gunners going on to win the game 2-0
During his celebration, Trossard appeared to send a clear message that he was unhappy not starting with Arteta responding to his impact after the game. “First of all that when you don’t get picked there are certain ways to react,” Arteta said.
“Leo is upset but he’s upset to show on the pitch how good he is, not upset then come in and because I wasn’t playing then it is like this. That’s a huge quality. When you put him in the starting XI he does exactly the same thing. That’s a big message and a big example for the rest of the team and myself.
“Today we had a few. When Ricky [Riccardo Calafiori] had to come in he was unbelievable. You ask Reiss [Nelson] to come in for five minutes, he’s the same. The boys that unfortunately didn’t have the minutes, they’re supporting the other ones. That’s what we need.”
As a result of his goal at Villa Park, Trossard started the clash against Brighton but struggled to make an impact, with Declan Rice’s sending off playing a big part in his early withdrawal for Martinelli after 59 minutes.
Given Arsenal’s stance on Trossard, Al Ittihad have already turned attention elsewhere with their transfer window closing today. According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, the Saudi Pro League side have sent a £42.1million (€50m) proposal to Porto for Galeno with talks already advancing and thus their Trossard pursuit seemingly over.
