Arsenal star Leandro Trossard has revealed what has surprised him the most since joining Mikel Arteta's squad in the January transfer window. The Belgian forward was signed from Brighton after completing a £27million move to the Emirates Stadium, offering competition in attack against the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka.
The Gunners wanted to add a new attacker to the squad in January following Gabriel Jesus' knee injury which he sustained during the World Cup in Qatar. The Brazilian striker was sidelined for over three months but has now returned to fitness at a key stage in the season.
Arsenal are eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table and resume their title race with Manchester City following the international break. Trossard has proven to be an influential player in a short period of time following his arrival at the Emirates Stadium, registering seven goal contributions in just 12 appearances.
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The 27-year-old may not have expected to start many games given Eddie Nketiah's form during Jesus' absence, whilst Martinelli and Saka were deemed to be 'undroppable' by Arteta - but Trossard has now revealed that he was surprised by the amount of minutes he was able to play since completing a move to Arsenal.
Speaking ahead of Belgium's Euro 2024 qualifier against Sweden on Friday, Trossard told Aol: “I maybe didn’t expect to make that many minutes, but injuries helped me a bit.
"I am however more than convinced of my own capabilities. I arrived in a great group, filled with great players -that also makes it easier for new players to adapt and reach their levels.
"It was a very busy and weird period for me, but I’m very happy that I have been able to join Arsenal. I think it’s been a great step for me."
Trossard has been utilised on the left-wing and at striker after signing from Brighton, with Jesus making his comeback from injury by replacing Trossard in the final stages of the Gunners' comfortable win over Fulham - in which the Belgian forward registered three assists, with Jesus then immediately warned by boss Mikel Arteta that he was not guaranteed to come back into the team ahead of Trossard in the wake of the versatile forward's impressive form.
Speaking after the match, the Arsenal boss said: “It's great to have him [Jesus] back, but he has to earn his place like in any other team. We have alternatives who can play in different positions and we have different goals as well to fill in relation to the chemistry of the players and what we ask them to do - it's a great problem to have, believe me.
“We try to adapt to the quality of players that we have, to put them in their strengths and position where we want as much as possible. Leo [Leandro Trossard] has very different qualities to Gabi, Martin [Odegaard] complements him really well in terms of the space and understanding with him - it's great to have that versatility.”
Trossard is enjoying one of his best seasons in the Premier League and will hope he can continue to make an impact and help the Gunners lift their first title since 2004. The Belgian forward has been able to adapt quickly and arguably been one of the reasons for Martinelli's improvement in performances after the Brazilian was suffering from a goal drought prior to Trossard's arrival in January.
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