Following a fairly quick and uncomplicated courtship during the World Cup, Premier League champion Leandro Trossard has made his move to Turkish club Beşiktaş official with Arsenal announcing his transfer on Tuesday morning. The Belgian winger has signed a deal for up to €20 million for three years with a one year option.
As far as outgoings go, this one falls under the “hate to see it, but fully understand it” category. While Arsenal fans across the globe have been mourning his move and sharing their
words of appreciation for the winger, there has also been near unanimous agreement that the time was right. At 31 years of age and turning 32 in December, he still has some solid years left, but a reset at the left wing felt sorely needed. Now he enters a situation where he can continue fighting for trophies while being an out-and-out starter, which was never quite the case during his time in north London.
Trossard’s impact at Arsenal since joining from Brighton in the 2023 January transfer window simply cannot be calculated. After putting pen to paper during the Gunners’ title chase in the 22/23 season, he quickly became one of the most clutch players in the Emirates era. Racking up 27 goals and 24 assists across all competitions, he always found a way to show up when it mattered most and made his contributions count.
In both the Premier League and the Champions League, he became a game breaker that lived for the biggest stages and embraced the pressure. Few goals encapsulated his impact as much as his final one in an Arsenal shirt, when he scored the decisive goal away to West Ham in the third to last match of the season to keep Manchester City at bay and all but ensure the title for the Gunners. He was moody at times, but an undeniable competitor who wore his passion on his sleeve and gave his all whenever he was on the pitch.
His signing was also one of, if not the biggest, sliding doors moments during Arsenal’s resurgence under Mikel Arteta and almost certainly the best winter transfer in the Emirates era. Pivoting at the last minute and signing him for relative pennies at £27 million instead of breaking the bank on Mykhailo Mudryk turned out to be one of the most profoundly important moments for the club when you consider how the fates of both the players and their respective clubs panned out following that window. Who knows where Arsenal would be if they hadn’t walked away from the Mudryk bidding war.
After seven years in England and three and a half seasons at Arsenal, Leo is off to a new challenge as he enters the twilight of his career. At the very least, he leaves the club a Champion of England with his Arsenal legacy cemented.
Fare thee well, Leandro, our sleepless, temperamental raccoon, and thank you for the memories. You leave us on the highest note as a Premier League champion, and the club undoubtedly would not have been able to break the title drought without you. You will always be an Arsenal legend.
