Arsenal January signing Leandro Trossard was heaped with praise for his full debut against Manchester City in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Friday night. The Belgian made the switch from Brighton last week as the first signing of the window, joining on an initial £21million fee.
The move adds much-needed quality in depth for the Gunners in the midst of a Premier League title race, sitting top of the table and five points clear of City with a game in hand. The 28-year-old could be that extra body needed to help push them over the line in the latter half of the campaign.
"He is a versatile player with high technical ability, intelligence and a great deal of experience in the Premier League and at international level," Mikel Arteta said on his new addition. "Leandro strengthens our squad as we head into the second part of the season and we’re all looking forward to working with him."
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Trossard got his first taste of life in north London when he came off the bench in a 3-2 win over Manchester United in the league before making a first start against City on Friday night. The versatile forward looked lively in spells when he received the ball on the left, often driving at John Stones.
He was later substituted in the second half, but former Arsenal star Ian Wright was full of praise for his performance, telling ITV: "We know this [that he’s not come to Arsenal to warm the bench] with Trossard because we’ve seen him at Brighton and we know what he’s capable of doing. This is why we’re so happy that he chose to come and we went and got him, because he’s somebody that can hit the ground running - that’s what he’s done.
"We saw it against Man United and we’re seeing it again tonight. He’s getting the ball, he’s going at people - as soon as he gets the ball he’s ready, he’s going at John Stones there, he’s trying to get the half a yard, and that’s good play because they’re afraid of him - afraid to tackle him - and he’s getting himself on the right side of Rico Lewis. He looks very safe."
It was something that ex-Manchester United captain Roy Keane agreed with, adding: "Considering he’s only been at the club a couple of weeks he looks an Arsenal type of player. The gear suits him, he looks brilliant, he knows the league obviously very well."
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