After three weeks of the January transfer window being open, Arsenal look set to finally complete their first signing of the winter window with the arrival of Leandro Trossard from Brighton. The Gunners opened formal talks on Thursday and football.london understands an agreement between the two clubs has been reached for a £21million deal plus add-ons.
Chelsea had been interested in securing a move for Trossard in the latter stages of 2022 after Graham Potter, who brought the Belgian international to England, left Brighton to become the new Chelsea manager. Tottenham then reportedly sent a £12million bid to the Seagulls in January which was swiftly rejected, before Edu arrived on the scene, opening and then completing negotiations for his transfer in the space of 24 hours.
A few weeks ago a January departure for Trossard was unthinkable with the versatile forward thriving under Roberto De Zerbi since his appointment in September 2022. However, that soon changed after the 28-year-old's response to being left out of the squad to take on Middlesbrough in the FA Cup did not go down well.
READ MORE: Leandro Trossard to Arsenal transfer latest: Edu talks, price tag revealed, agreement reached
"Leandro Trossard isn't on the list for next game," De Zerbi said ahead of Brighton's 3-0 win over Liverpool. "The last session before last game, when he understood he wasn't playing, he left the session without telling me anything. I told him I don't like this attitude."
The problems stemming between Trossard and De Zerbi appeared to make it a rather straightforward decision for both player and club, with Arsenal the main beneficiaries. Such was the speed of the deal, Trossard could feature against Manchester United on Sunday and football.london understands the club are pushing hard to ensure that can happen.
After solving their main concern of adding attacking depth to their squad with Trossard set to join imminently, Arteta and Edu can now turn to their next potential January deal which could come in defence.
The first-choice back four sees Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ben White as the full-backs with Gabriel Magalhaes partnering William Saliba. However, it is not a traditional back four, as the acquisition of Zinchenko in the summer transformed the shape of the defence with the introduction of an inverted option on the left flank.
On the right, Arteta has a more disciplined option in either White or Tomiyasu, but having seen the success of using Zinchenko in his inverted role, the Spaniard could be tempted to acquire a right-sided option especially because of the Ukraine international's fitness issues so far this season.
The man perhaps best-suited to that job is Real Valladolid right-back Ivan Fresneda who has attracted Premier League interest. At only 18-years-old, Fresneda has been able to showcase his abilities in a struggling Valladolid team being described as a midfielder masquerading as a right-back.
Midfield is of course another topic of discussion but acquiring another player in the mould of Zinchenko could be of great value to the Gunners. And at just 18, he fits the profile of a player Arteta would want.
Arsenal will likely face competition if they want to land the Spaniard though, as both Newcastle and Wolves are interested - while Chelsea can never be ruled out. Pucela Fichajes have reported that Arsenal are willing to pay €20million (£17.6million) to get the deal done this winter.
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