Arsenal had somewhat of an exodus in the summer, with no less than 10 players, including Eddie Nkeitah, Emile Smith Rowe, and Aaron Ramsdale, leaving the club. The departures from The Emirates, however, appear not to be finished, with a number of other stars now reported to be on their way out.
Defenders Takehiro Tomiyasu and Jakub Kiwior have both reportedly been lined up by clubs in Italy, while Gabriel Jesus is, according to reports from Brazil, wanted by his boyhood club Palmeiras. The injury-prone Brazilian striker, who joined Arsenal from Manchester City in June 2022, is yet to start a Premier League game for the Gunners this term, having lost his place to Kai Havertz.
While Arsenal have dispelled any idea that Jesus could leave the club, it remains unclear whether the player is happy to be manager Mikel Arteta’s second-choice striker, having left City for the same reason two years ago.
Trossard could leave too, say reports in Belgium
Jesus isn’t the only Arsenal forward who is being linked with a move away from North London. On Saturday, Belgium newspaper DH.net reported that an Emirates exit could also be on the cards for Leandro Trossard, who is of course now jetting off for international duty under Domenico Tedesco.
Like Jesus, the Belgian forward has struggled to nail down a starting place for Arsenal this term, with Arteta preferring to play Gabriel Martinelli on the left of his front three. Former Belgian footballer Thomas Chatelle wrote for DH.net that, amid the lack of game time, Trossard may be dreaming of signing elsewhere for regular starts, especially if he wants to continue playing at international level.
“Trossard is at a crossroads in his magnificent career. At 29, he can still dream of moving on,” Chatelle wrote, adding that Trossard is seen as a “luxury” at Arsenal and the press in Belgium seem to expect him to depart in 2025.
Why Trossard may have never joined Arsenal
Trossard joined Arsenal from Brighton for a fee of around £27 million from Brighton in January 2023. Since, he’s scored 20 goals in 77 appearances for the Gunners, including important strikes against FC Porto in the Champions League and Chelsea in the Premier League. He’s also registered 13 assists.
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Arsenal would have gone without Trossard’s contributions, however, if they had their way in the transfer market at the time.
The Gunners had initially wanted to bring in either Mykhailo Mudryk or Joao Felix to bolster their attacking options, but lost out on both players to Chelsea, with the former signing for the Blues for an eye-watering £89 million. Comparing the three players’ outputs since January 2023, it seems Arsenal landed the jackpot.
Trossard’s 20 goals and 13 assists far eclipse Mudryk and Felix’s outputs in the same period. Mudryk has scored just seven goals and produced six assists in 66 games for Chelsea, while Felix has scored 15 and assisted seven in 69 games for both Chelsea and FC Barcelona, with whom he spent last season on-loan.