Former Arsenal defender William Gallas has raised doubts over the signing of Belgian winger Leandro Trossard by the Gunners.
Recall that Mikel Arteta’s team paid a fee in the region of £27 million to Premier League side Brighton during the January transfer window.
The north London giants turned their attention to Trossard after missing out on their initial transfer target Mykhailo Mudryk, who eventually joined rivals Chelsea.
Trossard, on the other hand, has been one of the Premier League’s top performers and was instrumental in Brighton’s impressive form this season.
He was able to score an impressive total of seven league goals for the Seagulls during the ongoing campaign prior to his move to Arsenal.
There has been much optimism that Trossard will add a lot of quality and experience to Arteta’s team as they hope to clinch a remarkable league title.
However, former Gunners defender Gallas feels otherwise, as he has doubts as to whether or not the Belgian is a good signing. In his words, as seen in Metro, he said:
“I don’t know if Leandro Trossard is a good signing. He has a big profile like his fellow teammates but the question can he lift his level at a big club?
He continued:
“If it’s a good signing, he will help take Arsenal to victory. When you bring players to a big club, they have to play really well, so we need to wait and see what happens.”
It’s left to be seen as to whether Trossard will prove Gallas wrong at Arsenal. The Belgian has already shown a few glimpses of what he can offer, especially during games against Manchester United and Manchester City.
Arteta makes honest admission about Arsenal new signing Trossard, who joined from Brighton in January
While former defender Gallas isn’t too convinced about the signing of Trossard, head coach Arteta thinks otherwise.
The Spanish tactician revealed last month that he was very happy to bring in the Belgian to join his now-star-studded team. In his words:
“We are really happy to have him. He’s a player we have been following for a while now. The opportunity came – we had the need to have a player in the frontline who is versatile enough to play in different positions.”
He continued:
“He knows the league, he has enough experience here and I think he can have an immediate impact on the team. We have to think short-term, but medium and long-term as well. He gave us all of that.”
Arteta concluded:
“He’s a very intelligent player. When you look at his career and what he’s done in the last few years, he’s a player that fits our way of playing.”