Tottenham Hotspur bid for Leandro Trossard before Arsenal secured the forward’s signing from Brighton & Hove Albion, according to a report.
Isaan Khan reports for the Daily Mail that prior to Arsenal signing Leandro Trossard in January of 2023, Tottenham Hotspur had made a bid for the winger in the same window.
According to the report, Brighton wanted £20m plus add-ons at that stage of the window. Spurs were only willing to pay £15m plus add-ons, so the deal fell through.
Brighton’s firm stance ended up paying off, as Khan reports that Arsenal ended up paying £27m for the player. By that later point in the window, with the Gunners seeing their move for Mykhailo Mudryk hijacked, the club were willing to offer the asking price.
Even if Arsenal ended up paying significantly more than Spurs were willing to bid, the decision to meet Brighton’s terms has paid off for Mikel Arteta’s side so far.
Trossard has over 60 goals and assists for Arsenal in under three years, including many in big games against the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, PSG, Bayern Munich, FC Porto, and others.
Arsenal have been so impressed with Trossard’s form that over the summer they handed him a pay-rise without extending his contract.
According to the same Daily Mail report, Trossard was told prior to signing his new deal that he’d likely be used as a squad player rather than as a consistent starter this season.
But after an excellent few months, we’ve now reached the point where Trossard was reportedly rested against Bournemouth to be ready for Thursday’s big game against Liverpool.
No Arsenal player has more goals and assists than Trossard this season, so it makes perfect sense Arteta would want him available for the big games.