Revealed: The club Arsenal hijacked Trossard from

James Shearman

• Updated: 19 Jan 2023 18:19 GMT
• 3 min read

Arsenal faced competition for new signing Leandro Trossard, according to reports in France.

Get French Football News claim that Ligue 1 club Marseille were in talks with Trossard's team, before he completed a move to north London.

Arsenal fans were majorly disappointed with rivals Chelsea for swooping in and stealing Mykhailo Mudryk last week, but it appears they have done the same to Marseille.

READ: Leandro Trossard to Arsenal a 'done deal' for £27m

Trossard has seven goals in 16 appearances for Brighton this season, as they look to qualify for Europe for the first time in the club's history.

But the Belgian recently fell out with manager manager Roberto De Zerbi, who criticised his attitude in the wake of a move.

''Nothing serious happened with Trossard. But recently, he didn’t give 100 per cent in training and on matchday, that’s it on my side,'' the Seagulls boss told Repubblica.

''Football deserves respect. I don’t have to apologise for anything.

Trossard will now turn his attention to helping Arsenal lift their first Premier League title since 2003-04.

How will Arsenal line up with Trossard?

The Gunners' first-choice starting XI will most likely stay the same, despite Trossard's arrival.

The form of Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka out wide and Eddie Nketiah through the middle since taking over from the injured Gabriel Jesus means Trossard will find it hard to force his way into Mikel Arteta's preferred side.

Ultimately, he is mostly joining the club as a back-up option to provide depth and competition, similar to the role Reiss Nelson performed over the first-half of the campaign.

Aaron Ramsdale will continue as the club's number one, playing behind a back four consisting of Benjamin White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka and Martin Odegaard will look to build on their impressive start to 2022/23, while Saka, Martinelli and Nketiah will remain the front three.

When Trossard does manage to pick up minutes, he will likely replace Martinelli as Arsenal's left winger. The Brazilian has played a lot of football this season and will need a rest as the run-in approaches, meaning Trossard will mostly play on the left flank.

He may pick up a few minutes as Arsenal's striker, especially with Jesus yet to return to action, but once the Brazil international is back, Trossard will mostly be found on the left of the Gunners' front three.