Arsenal want to sign world-class Trossard upgrade who’s played for Chelsea

This season was supposed to be the year Arsenal finally got over the line in the Premier League after two campaigns of coming painfully close.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t look like it’s going to be the case at the moment, as a combination of injuries, suspensions, a brutal schedule and perhaps most consequential of all, poor performances have left Mikel Arteta’s side nine points off Liverpool in top spot.

It’s been a season to forget so far for more than a handful of the Gunners stars, including the usually clutch Leandro Trossard, who’s looked nothing like the player of the last 18 months and is now set to spend some time on the sidelines due to an injury he picked up on international duty.

However, that may be the least of his worries, as recent reports have also linked the club with a sensationally gifted attacker who could well be his upgrade.

Arsenal transfer news

According to a recent report from Caught Offside’s Daily Briefing, Arsenal are one of several sides interested in signing AC Milan’s Christian Pulisic.

Alongside the Gunners, the report has also revealed that fellow Premier League sides Liverpool and Manchester United are keen to bring the former Chelsea man back to these shores.

This added competition is far from ideal for the North Londoners, and on top of that, the Rossoneri are supposedly after £54m for their £81k-per-week man, which is a considerable increase on the £20m they paid for him in July 2023.

It would be a complicated and costly transfer to get over the line, but given Pulisic’s ability and recent form, it is likely worth pursuing, especially as he could be an ideal Trossard upgrade.

How Pulisic compares to Trossard

Across his career to date, Pulisic has shown that he’s capable of playing in multiple positions to an impressive level, and while he’s played off the right more than anywhere else, left wing is a clear second.

So, given the importance of Bukayo Saka for Arsenal, the left is almost certainly where he’d play in North London, meaning one of his primary competitors for a place in the side would be Trossard, but how do they stack up against one another?

Well, from a pure output perspective, it’s the American “magician”, as described by sports writer Al Butler, who comes out ahead, as from the start of last season he’s scored 22 goals and provided 16 assists in just 65 appearances, which equates to a goal involvement every 1.71 games.

In contrast, the former Brighton & Hove Albion ace has scored 19 goals and provided three assists in 61 games, which comes out to a far less impressive goal involvement every 2.77 games on average.

Is it just as one-sided of comparison when we take a look under the hood at their underlying numbers? It is indeed, as in the vast majority of underlying metrics, the “world-class” Milan ace, as dubbed by USMNT legend Alexi Lalas, comes out comfortably ahead.

These metrics include expected and actual non-penalty goals plus assists, progressive carries passing accuracy, goal and shot-creating actions, shots on target, key and live passes, and carries into the penalty area, all per 90.

Ultimately, not only does Pulisic have Trorssard comfortably beaten when it comes to their raw output, but he has substantially better underlying numbers to boot, making it crystal clear that he would, in fact, be an upgrade over the Belgian.

Therefore, even if it proves to be complicated and costly, Arsenal should do what they can to bring the American international to the Emirates in 2025 before one of their rivals beats them to him.

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