Arsenal fly out to Europe to sign £100m+ star

There’s an increasing rush to question and condemn new signings before they’ve even taken to the field, with fans and pundits alike often left a little red-faced when those same players begin to thrive – just ask Arsenal and Leandro Trossard.

Looking back to January 2023, it was viewed as a significant blow when the Gunners lost out to Chelsea in the battle for Ukrainian sensation, Mykhailo Mudryk, instead pivoting to what seemed like a short-term fix in the form of Trossard.

Three-and-a-half years on, the £62m Mudryk is the forgotten man at Stamford Bridge amid an ongoing doping ban, while the experienced Belgian is a Premier League winner and certified cult hero at the Emirates.

All good things must come to an end, however, with Trossard set to drift off to pastures new in Turkey, leaving behind a void that will prove difficult to fill next season.

Why the time is right for Trossard to leave Arsenal

There’s no denying that the ex-Brighton and Hove Albion man has become such a reliable presence under Mikel Arteta‘s watch, arguably the most consistent of the Gunners’ pool of wingers.

With Bukayo Saka hampered by injury, Noni Madueke devoid of end product and Gabriel Martinelli so frustratingly erratic, Trossard has come up with the goods time and again, not least his crucial goal against West Ham United to all-but seal the title.

He’ll forever be a legend for clutch moments like that, and yet, there does remain wisdom in moving him on, even with the other wide men having toiled of late.

Set to turn 32 later this year, and with his contract expiring next summer, now feels like the perfect time for Trossard to bow out, doing so on a high after his vital involvement in a stunning 2025/26 campaign.

Equally too, while the woes of Madueke and Martinelli must be considered, it’s not as if Trossard can’t necessarily be improved upon, not least having racked up just 12 goals and assists in the Premier League last term.

He’s dynamic and versatile, a man for the big moments in almost Freddie Ljungbjerg style, and yet he has a ceiling, never going beyond 15 goals and assists in his three full top-flight campaigns at the club.

The 31-year-old’s exit to Bestikas stings right now, but if adequately replaced, the north London side might move on swiftly next term.

How Arsenal are planning to replace Trossard this summer

To think it’s mid-July and Arsenal have only signed Leeds United outcast, Illan Meslier, with the champions enduring a rather muted window so far.

With the World Cup coming to a conclusion soon, however, expect things to pick up pace before too long, with the likes of Bruno Guimaraes and Morgan Rogers still among the list of priorities.

In terms of Andrea Berta’s leading target, that tag might well belong to Argentina’s Julian Alvarez, with one respected Arsenal insider talking up the club’s hopes of sealing a deal.

There are believed to have been fresh talks held between the Gunners and Atletico Madrid regarding the 26-year-old, while the player himself is open to a move to north London, should a dream switch to Barcelona fall flat.

Intriguingly, Berta is currently in Madrid with his family and is said to have met with Atleti officials, further ramping up hope that this marquee move remains a real possibility.

At £100m plus, Alvarez wouldn’t exactly come cheap, but sometimes you just have to pay a premium for premium forwards.

And the former Manchester City man is very much that, as he showed when propelling Argentina into the last four of the World Cup following his stunning, long-range effort against Switzerland.

It had largely been an underwhelming tournament for the versatile marksman prior to that, although he was previously vital in the success of 2022, scoring four times in Qatar.

That’s the type of form he showcased for so long now at club level, such a talismanic force in Madrid in a variety of roles, mirroring Trossard as someone who can operate off either flank, as a number ten or in a centre-forward/false nine role.

There’s a completeness to his game that can’t be ignored, with Alvarez scoring and assisting 33 LaLiga goals across the last two seasons, albeit while perhaps saving his best form for the Champions League stage.

In Europe last season, for instance, he scored ten and registered four assists in 15 outings, after previously scoring seven and assisting one in 2024/25.

For context, Trossard registered just five goals and assists in last season’s Champions League run, after contributing just four goals and assists the campaign prior.

Looking back to Alvarez’s Premier League form at Man City too, he scored nine from just 13 starts in 2022/23, while then scoring and assisting 20 in 2024/25.

He was in the shadow of Erling Haaland then, but the £100m man looks like a superstar in his own right these days, someone who could truly allow Arsenal to kick on even further with Trossard out of the picture.

Alvarez isn’t a powerhouse forward like a Haaland or a Viktor Gyokeres, but like Trossard, he can hurt defences in all number of ways, be it dropping deep, drifting wide or running in behind.

He can certainly replicate what the Belgian has provided to Arteta in recent years, albeit while boasting that elite-level quality to crank things up a notch next season.

Trossard, to the surprise of many, more than held the fort following his 2023 arrival, although now is the time for the Gunners to land the truly world-class forward that they’ve long been crying out for.