Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has revealed that Leandro Trossard was ‘desperate’ to join Arsenal this winter, and believes that the Belgian can have an ‘immediate’ impact on his side as they target their first Premier League title since 2004.
The Gunners missed out on their no.1 target Mykhaylo Mudryk, who joined Chelsea last weekend in a deal worth 100m euros, and there was concern that they would not have time to identify a suitable alternative to the Ukrainian before the January transfer window shut.
However, the current Premier League leaders confirmed on Friday that they had agreed a £21m deal for Brighton attacker Trossard, who is in line to make his debut against Manchester United on Sunday.
And, speaking after the deal was confirmed, Arteta revealed that the attacker was desperate to make the switch to north London, and backed him to be a success at the Emirates Stadium.
“He was desperate to come, we welcome those kind of players to the club”, the Spaniard told the media.
“He knows the league, he has enough experience here and I think he can have an immediate impact on the team.”
#AFC | Leandro Trossard during his first Arsenal training session.
📸 – https://t.co/s3oI8xBLlF pic.twitter.com/ADCp6YGcv8
— Chris Davison (@cdavison_afc) January 20, 2023
‘The opportunity came and we had the necessity for a player in the front line who is versatile. He is a versatile player with high technical ability, intelligence and a great deal of experience in the Premier League and at international level”
And the Gunners boss was quick to hit back at criticisms over Trossard’s age, with Arsenal breaking from their usual under 25 transfer policy to land the Brighton man.
“Leandro Trossard’s age is not a problem, the squad can absorb a player of 28 years old. With the right experience, right versatility, right quality”, he explained.
“It is not that we had to sign 20, 21, 22-year-olds for the next five years. That is not the plan”.
Arsenal are set to revert to type in the coming days, with a deal for young Polish defender Jakub Kiwior in it’s final stages and the Serie A centre back set to have a medical in London this weekend.
