The Cold Value of Trossard's Efficiency

A direct goal involvement every 128 minutes of play is the standard that Leandro Trossard set during his three-and-a-half-year spell at the Emirates. When a title contender decides to sell a player with that level of efficiency, it demands close tactical scrutiny. Arsenal have decided to sanction the sale of Leandro Trossard to Turkish club Besiktas.

According to The Guardian, the Belgian forward departs after three and a half seasons in North London. During his tenure, Trossard made 174 appearances and scored 36 goals across all competitions. This departure leaves a massive hole in Mikel Arteta's squad.

Arsenal signed Trossard from Brighton & Hove Albion in January 2023 for an initial fee of £21 million plus £5 million in potential add-ons. They have now agreed a package worth €20 million, consisting of €18 million upfront and €2 million in add-ons. Over three and a half seasons, Arsenal extracted elite production and recouped nearly the entire initial outlay.

In the Premier League, Trossard recorded 27 goals and 24 assists in 123 matches for Arsenal. This translates to a direct goal contribution every 128 minutes of play. By comparison, Gabriel Martinelli averaged a goal involvement every 194 minutes over the same timeframe.

The Myth of the Pure Super-Sub

For months, the consensus was that Trossard was a specialized impact player who only thrived off the bench. In August 2024, data showed that six of his 14 Premier League goals for Arsenal were scored as a substitute. This represented 42.8% of his total league output at the time, fueling his reputation as the ultimate super-sub.

During the 2023/24 Premier League campaign, Trossard started 18 matches and made 16 appearances off the bench, scoring 12 goals. When analyzing his underlying numbers, his expected goals (xG) per 90 minutes when starting was 0.44. As a substitute, that figure was 0.41, showing that his efficiency did not rely on facing tired legs.

In that same 2023/24 season, he scored his 12 goals from an expected goals (xG) value of just 8.2. This represents an overperformance of +3.8 goals, placing him in the 94th percentile among all Premier League wingers for finishing efficiency. When Arsenal needed someone to convert a half-chance in a tight game, Trossard delivered.

Spatial Mastery and the Left-Wing Dilemma

Trossard's tactical profile offered a complete contrast to Gabriel Martinelli. Martinelli is a traditional winger who hugs the touchline and tries to beat his man with explosive speed. Trossard is a space investigator who preferred to drift into the left half-space, dragging defenders out of position to create passing lanes.

Craven Cottage and final-third spacing

We saw the peak of this spatial intelligence on March 12, 2023, during an away match against Fulham. Trossard provided three assists in the first half of a comfortable 3-0 victory, becoming the first player in Premier League history to record an assist hat-trick in the first half of an away game. He did not rely on physical dominance, but on timing, scanning, and technical execution.

In the 2024/25 campaign, Trossard played in all 38 Premier League matches, starting 28 times and registering 8 goals and 7 assists. When Trossard started, Arsenal's passing accuracy in the final third averaged 83.1%. In matches where Martinelli started instead, that number dropped to 79.4%, showing how Trossard acted as a final-third connector.

Physical Regression and the Danger of the Deal

No player is without flaws, and at 31 years old, the Belgian's physical capacity has started to show signs of decline. In the recent 2025/26 season, Trossard's successful dribble rate fell to 38.5% from the 48.2% he maintained during his first full season in London. He could no longer consistently bypass defenders in isolation.

His defensive recoveries fell from 3.2 per 90 minutes in 2023/24 to just 2.4 per 90 in the 2025/26 campaign. There were also moments of defensive passivity where he failed to track back during opposition transitions. This physical regression likely influenced Arsenal's decision to cash in on him before his value bottomed out.

There were also signs of regression in his finishing during the 2024/25 season, where he scored 8 Premier League goals from a non-penalty expected goals (npxG) value of 9.6. Underperforming his expected goals by 1.6 was a stark contrast to his clinical overperformance the previous year. His shot conversion rate also dropped from 22.4% to 14.8% between those two seasons.

Clutch moments in European play

Beyond domestic competitions, Trossard’s statistical output in the UEFA Champions League further highlights his value as a big-game player. During the 2023/24 European campaign, he scored 4 goals in 9 matches, finding the net against PSV Eindhoven, Sevilla, FC Porto, and Bayern Munich. His goals were not cheap stat-padding additions in blowout wins, but vital equalizers and openers that directly impacted Arsenal's progression.

In the round of 16 tie against FC Porto, Trossard scored the only goal of the second leg to level the aggregate score at 1-1, sending the match to penalties. Later, in the quarter-final first leg against Bayern Munich, his 76th-minute equalizer secured a vital 2-2 draw at the Emirates. In these high-pressure moments, Trossard recorded a shot-on-target percentage of 60.0% in Europe, significantly higher than his domestic average of 42.1%.

His passing accuracy in the Champions League remained remarkably stable at 81.5%, even when facing intense midblock pressure from elite European sides. This level of technical security under pressure is notoriously difficult to replicate, especially for players coming off the bench in hostile environments. Without Trossard’s clutch European goals, Arsenal’s recent continental runs would have ended much sooner than they did.

Arteta's tactical vacuum

Despite these physical declines, letting Trossard leave is a massive gamble. The BBC reported that Arsenal agreed a fee to sell the forward to Besiktas. This leaves Mikel Arteta with a dangerously thin attacking rotation, leaving Gabriel Martinelli as the only established senior left winger in the squad.

Trossard was Arteta's ultimate tactical safety valve, capable of playing as a left winger, a false nine, or in the left-sided midfield role. In the 2025/26 season, Trossard still managed to chip in with 6 goals and 6 assists in 31 Premier League games. Replacing that level of production and versatility for €20 million in the modern market is almost impossible.

Arsenal are betting that Martinelli can rediscover his best form while hoping they avoid a major injury crisis in their forward line. If those bets fail, the decision to sell Trossard will look incredibly short-sighted. Without his efficiency, the road to the Premier League title just got much steeper.