#65 - Trossard should be sold to allow remodelling of Arsenal attack

Talk of a Trossard-extension has me thinking, its time to take this opportunity to completely remodel the Arsenal attack.

News emerged last week that Arsenal were looking to extend the contract of Leandro Trossard, with his current deal expiring next summer. Whilst I understand the desire to protect his value, the Belgian has shown signs of decline this season and I feel like this summer is the right time to move on from him and reshape our options in attack.

Another temptation for renewal will be because of the amount of work Arsenal have to do this summer - but with nothing done in January and Andrea Berta now fully in charge - Arsenal should not shy away from a busy summer, as a significant reshuffle is required, particularly in attack. Don’t take the easy option.

For me, an ideal summer sees three attacking arrivals for Arsenal. A striker, a left-winger and a wide creator. To open the door for this, Trossard would need to make way, as well as the loan expiry of Raheem Sterling.

Trossard is a very useful player, but we’ve probably seen the best of him already and I think we have an opportunity here to remodel our attacking options. His plus points are also his drawbacks. He can play a few roles, but none of them he excels in. We’ve probably seen the best of him at left-wing, but he lacks the athleticism to really excel in that role. He struggles to consistently deliver at centre-forward, with a midfielder Mikel Merino favoured there in 2025. We saw a bit of him as an attacking midfielder last season, but that seems to have gone out of the window too, and may be because of his age.

We need another wing option to offer pace and power, like Martinelli and Saka can. I also think we need a more intricate creative option who could play wide left and also in central areas when the game-state dictates. This squad should be ready for in-game situations where Rice drops to #6 and we can slide in a wide creator to left-8, alongside Odegaard, rather than putting all of the creative burden on the Norweigan. Yes we have injuries, but the lack of anything attacking off the bench in recent games has been startling.

Arsenal never replaced Emile Smith Rowe or Fabio Vieira (only on loan, but set to be sold). They have Ethan Nwaneri emerging, and Max Dowman. Both of those players though seem most likely to occupy / compete for central-right spots in the side. And with the pitch being we should let Trossard go, I have focussed more on players who are centre-left positionally.

My three-man shortlist

1. Xavi Simons

A player I have loved for several years, I can't believe he is still just 22. The Dutch forward is the most versatile of the options on the market, he can play as an 8, 10, left and right winger and even do a job as a false 9. He would give Mikel a huge amount of tactical variability.

Leipzig have had a bit of a difficult year, but against that backdrop, he's still shone and been the best player in the team across the season. WhoScored has his average rating at 7.31, with Will Orban (7.08) and Bejamin Sesko (6.95) the closest to him.

Like Odegaard - he’s had to bear a lot of the creative burden this season for his club. His passing numbers are elite: 2.1 key passes per 90, 2.43 passes into the penalty area. He's a high-touch player (64.17 per game), never shirking responsibility and always looking to drop into pockets of space to make an impact. I could see him starting games from the left, or moving centrally when we need a goal, and having a real impact.

Interestingly, Simons joined Leipzig permanently (after an initial loan) for an initial £46m (potentially rising to £67.5m) in January, but his contract is expiring in June 2027. That suggests there is some sort of agreement with the player that he can and will be sold.

He won’t be cheap, but the fact Leipzig didn’t qualify for the Champions League and other milestones are yet to be met, could mean Leipzig won’t have yet paid many, if any of the add-ons. This has led to some rumours suggesting he could be available for £60m this summer.

Given the fact he is just 22, the cost of the alternatives, and the ability Xavi has, this could be a sound investment.

2. Eberechi Eze

The Premier League proven option. Watching Michael Olise excel and win a title with Bayern must have given Eze some thought this season. He’s stood out at Palace and looks ready for the next step.

Soon to be 27 and on a relatively modest wage of £100,000 per week at Palace, Eze must be considering a big move this summer as it may be his last opportunity. I'm sure the clubs will be queuing to sign him, if there looks to be a possibility. Arsenal should certainly be involved in that conversation.

I’m consistently impressed with Eze when I watch him on the TV or in person. He’s always stood out to me at The Emirates, even when we thrashed Palace last season, he looked great and is so hard to disposess. He has that ball-retention quality with deceptive strength like Saka, and having that option from the left and in central zones would be huge for this squad.

He's scored 7 goals and notched 8 assists in the Premier League this season.

His age is ultimately the reason I prefer Simons, but there’s no doubt Arsenal’s winning window is open and to stand the best chance of a major trophy next season, it feels like Eze would be the best acquisition for the ‘now’.

It will be interesting to see what price Palace set for any sale as that could ultimately dictate whether he or Xavi would be the better signing.

3. Alex Beana

I’ve seen less of Beana live, but I like the look of his statistical profile. He shows up very favourably when looking for a player who can create from wide areas. He also seems to have the ability to play from left-back and central midfield, so could be a good replacement in the squad for Zinchenko, who is still used sparingly across a number of roles for Arteta.

He earns just £35,000 a week and would likely cost less of a transfer fee than the other two options, so he comes up as a cost-effective option if Arsenal assign significant funds to the striker and winger signing.

Take a look at his FBRef profile to find out more about him, but he looks a player with brilliant end product in terms of shots and assists.

Wildcard: Matheus Cunha

Less of a midfielder than the other options, but a player who could play wide, as a second striker and as a main striker. He’s a multi-functional forward who could build out Arsenal’s attacking capacity.

If Arsenal cannot afford to sign all three of what I’d like (left-wing, striker and wide creator), but only two, then Cunha could be one of the best options. He can play in several roles and is Premier League-proven. He won’t give you that high-touch, creativity, but perhaps the arrival of Martin Zubimendi further back reduces the need for that in attacking zones.

Cunha is a player who can inspire the team with individual brilliance and that is something we lack in key moments.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments - is a signing of this ilk needed this summer? If so, who is your favourite option?