Arsenal close to agreeing personal terms to sign £100m + Trossard upgrade

After four and a half years, Leandro Trossard is set to bring down the curtain on a quite exceptional Arsenal career, due to sign for Besiktas after the World Cup.

It’s been a funny old story really. Without Chelsea signing Mykhailo Mudryk, a player the Gunners were dead set on landing, Trossard would not have been donning red and white.

With that Mudryk move falling through, they pivoted to Brighton’s Trossard, to a Premier League player worth just £27m.

It’s safe to say that Mikel Arteta and Co have had the last laugh with this one. He has been the definition of clutch. Indeed, only two other players – Mikel Merino and Gabriel Magalhaes have scored more game-state changing goals since the Belgian’s arrival. Essentially that means an opening, equalising or winning goal in a game.

As a result, replacing him this summer will be tricky, but Andrea Berta and Co have a number of targets in mind.

Arsenal making progress on big-money winger deal

Trossard is seemingly bound for Turkey. Arsenal have agreed a £17m fee with Besiktas to seal his exit from the Emirates Stadium.

It’s not a mega sum of money, sure, but he is 31 and coming to the back end of his career.

Whether or not that extra £17m helps them secure a new signing remains to be seen but they will need all the cash they can get in a bid to secure a truly elite replacement.

Bradley Barcola is one of the key targets and has been touted at a massive £116m. Arsenal officials are believed to have travelled to the USA to not just watch him, but also chat with his agent about a potential move away from PSG.

As we all know, however, Barcola is not the leading target. Morgan Rogers is. He wants the move but Aston Villa are going to play hard ball over this one, painting him with a quite staggering £130m asking price.

That said, there is hope for this one as they are making strong progress on the player side. That’s according to Fabrizio Romano who stated the following on YouTube: “Arsenal will sign an important winger in this summer window. The name and top priority they have in mind remains Morgan Rogers.”

Romano continued: “The agreement with the player is quite close and something Arsenal see as not a problem. But, Aston Villa will start at £130m. This could be eventually negotiated but let’s see. He will be very expensive. Arsenal are working on the deal.”

Why Rogers is the perfect Trossard replacement

If Trossard is to leave the Emirates Stadium behind in the forthcoming weeks, he will do so on an almighty high.

He has only scored one goal at club level in 2026 but it was a vital one at that, bagging the winner against West Ham United that all but sealed the Premier League title.

He will walk away from the Gunners with a winner’s medal around his neck and it is richly deserved for all he has given to Mikel Arteta and Co since arriving.

In Rogers, they would not sign a like for like replacement but they would land a player with even more potential, a player who could take this Arsenal team to the next level.

He is a former PFA Young Player of the Year winner and he’s someone who scores and creates goals with immense regularity. In 2024/25, the 23-year-old netted 14 times and supplied 16 goals for his teammates. Last term, he found the net on another 14 occasions while delivering 12 assists.

With Trossard not enjoying his most productive of years in 2025/26, we wanted to analyse the numbers from his peak season at Arsenal; the 2023/24 campaign where he scored 17 goals in all competitions. We’re comparing that with Rogers’ best season to provide the best context.

Truthfully, there isn’t a lot to separate between Rogers and Trossard as far as the numbers are concerned. The Belgian has been more prolific over a longer period of time and he took far more shots during the seasons analysed.

However, the former is certainly more of a powerful ball carrier and that’s why Arsenal like him so much. He’s a maverick, a player who will get you up the pitch more quickly and efficiently. He’s easily one of the best dribblers in the Premier League right now.

The key telling point when it comes to success will be that ‘clutch gene’. Can Rogers come in and make an impact in the big moments like Trossard did? Here’s hoping he will.

Either way, it does look like Arsenal are signing an upgrade here and at the age of 23, he’s got the potential to become an even more prominent player than Trossard was in north London.

An attacking midfielder by trade, his ability to also play off the left would make the Villa star an ideal replacement.