Leandro Trossard's move to Beşiktaş is edging closer, but it is not finished yet. Fabrizio Romano says Arsenal and Beşiktaş have agreed a €20m package, while Dirk Hebel says Trossard still has to make his decision. That is why Arsenal's planning matters just as much as the deal itself. He has made 6 appearances this season across all competitions, scored 2 goals and added 2 assists.
Arsenal's left-side rebuild
The bigger story is what an exit could open up for Arsenal. Trossard made 174 appearances across three-and-a-half years at the club, and his departure would give Arsenal room to move on the left side of [Mikel Arteta]'s attack. TEAMtalk says Arsenal are expected to intensify their pursuit of Morgan Rogers, their number one priority target for that area. Aston Villa are part of that wider picture because Rogers is their player, but the key point is Arsenal's need to add more output on that flank.
Romano described the meeting in the USA as very positive and said the salary and contract length are ready, with a three-year deal and one-year options. Hebel was less definitive, saying Trossard has "all the offers on the table" and will make his decision soon, with staying at Arsenal still an option.
The scepticism around this one is not hard to see. The fee and terms look lined up, but the player still has to give the green light. The more important part for Arsenal is that they are not treating this as a standalone sale. TEAMtalk says deals for four players could hit £366m if valuations are met in full, which tells you the club see movement on Trossard as one piece of a much larger summer.
The asterisk pundits raise
There is also a football reason Arsenal are ready to move on. Hebel said the left-hand side was criticised last season, with neither Trossard nor Gabriel Martinelli producing the desired output. Martinelli's 4 appearances and 1 goal this season do not change that picture much, and Trossard's 2 assists sit in the same broad bracket of underwhelming end product for a club looking to stay ahead after finishing 1st in the Premier League.
That is the most convincing argument for Arsenal pushing this now. The Beşiktaş deal may be close, but the point is not just getting Trossard out of the door. It is using that exit to speed up the left-side rebuild and keep the summer plan moving toward Rogers.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →