Arsenal have made a late deadline day signing, but it’s not one that any fans would have seen coming.
The Gunners have agreed a deal to sign Auston Trusty from Colorado Rapids, though the defender will stay at the MLS side on loan until the summer.
He will then be loaned out in Europe for the 2022/23 season, with Arsenal intending to use that move to help further the centre-back’s development.
Colorado are part of the same Kroenke Sports & Entertainment group which owns Arsenal, and there is no fee involved in the deal.
Here’s everything you need to know about Trusty and his career so far...
Career to date
Trusty was born in Philadelphia, USA, and represented his national team at both U19 and U20 level.
The centre-back joined Bethlehem Steel in 2016, the official affiliate team of Philadelphia Union, while he continued to play college football.
He would go on to make the step up to play for Philadelphia, before joining Colorado Rapids in 2019. Trusty had a slow start to his career at Colorado, but earned a new contract in December 2020 to tie him down until 2023.
The 23-year-old was an ever-present for the MLS side last season, playing more minutes than any other of his outfield teammates, as he made 34 appearances. That earned him a call-up to the senior national squad earlier this month.
Playing style
At six-foot-three, Trusty obviously has height on his side. That makes him comfortable dealing with long balls forward, and while that makes him an imposing figure from set-pieces at both ends of the pitch, he has scored just three goals in his career.
He is left-footed, and while he has predominantly played his football at centre-back, Colorado have also at times utilised Trusty as a wing-back.
Colorado fans are used to seeing him push out of defence and look to be aggressive in making interceptions.
What they’ve said
After joining Colorado, Trusty made just five appearances in his first year at the club. He admitted at the time that off-the-field circumstances made it difficult adapt to his new surroundings.
“Last year was a difficult year with COVID and everything like that,” Trusty told the Rapids’ official website.
“It was a different kind of environment. For me, it was hard to get to know everybody on a personal level. There was no locker room. There was no environment for us to even get to know each other.”
However, he extended his deal at Colorado at the end of 2020, and the club made it clear how much they valued the long-term potential of Trusty.
“We’re delighted to announce a new contract for Auston,” said Pádraig Smith, Colorada Rapids Executive VP & General Manager.
“Auston is a young, talented defender who has already proven himself in MLS and shown tremendous potential. We look forward to seeing his continued development over the coming years.”
