Are Arsenal crumbling? Stumbling, tripping, falling at the final hurdle once more? We won’t know for another few days but their 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa evoked horrible memories of last year’s end-of-season demise.
Without an injured William Saliba, a Mikel Arteta side with Rob Holding at the back limped out of Europe and ultimately ended up falling five points short of Manchester City in their bid to win the Premier League.
2024 has so far shown that the Gunners are made of sterner stuff but the defeat to Unai Emery of all people is a seismic setback.
Arsenal will have to go again, however, with a trip to Germany to face Bayern Munich on Wednesday evening forthcoming.
The Gunners drew 2-2 in the first leg last week, taking the lead through a fantastic finish from Bukayo Saka before Harry Kane and Serge Gnabry – who else – seized the initiative.
Yet, there were late fireworks at the Emirates Stadium with one of the club’s most underrated figures equalising. That man was Leandro Trossard.
What Ray Parlour has said about Leandro Trossard
In January 2023 the north Londoners were keen on a deal to bring Mykhailo Mudryk to north London.
The player made it quite clear he wanted a move to Arsenal but they were eventually priced out when Chelsea came calling, bringing him to the blue side of the capital in a deal worth £88.5m.
As a result, Edu and Co turned their attentions to Brighton’s Trossard. What a signing he has been, costing the club just £27m.
He has turned out to be one of the Brazilian director’s finest acquisitions of recent times, notably registering ten assists in his first 20 league outings in red and white.
The Belgian hasn’t been quite as productive in that regard this term, instead turning his attention to finding the back of the net. Trossard has scored 13 times this season, meaning he is Arsenal’s second top goal scorer behind Saka.
The 29-year-old has come up clutch on a number of occasions this campaign, specifically in the Champions League. It was the former Seagull who scored a precious equalising goal in the tie against Porto and indeed he then swept home elegantly against Bayern last week.
That ability to score goals when it matters most is a trait that sets him apart from others, with Ray Parlour comparing him to Invincible Freddie Ljungberg.
Speaking to Football FanCast on behalf of NetBet Casino, the former midfielder said:
“Yes, he is an excellent player. A top signing who is great to have in the squad. He has come up with some crucial goals and hopefully another one on Wednesday [against Bayern]. You need players to come in and hit the ground running straight away. He has done that well.
“The only player he kind of reminds me of is Ljungberg, the way Freddie got crucial goals for us with calm finishing.”
That’s quite the praise for Trossard, particularly when you consider what the Swede achieved at Highbury.
Playing 328 times for the Gunners between 1998 and 2007, the winger scored 72 goals under Arsene Wenger’s tutelage, also assisting 37 goals. He also won the Premier League twice and three FA Cups, not bad work indeed.
A much-loved figure at Arsenal, he eventually became interim manager of the club after Emery was given the boot.
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