How Leandro Trossard matches up against Arsenal's wingers

Less than 24 hours after first making contact, Arsenal have secured the signing of Leandro Trossard. According to Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal will pay £21m + £6m in add-ons. Trossard turned down two other clubs to sign for Arsenal, personal terms were never an issue with a deal that is set to run until 2026.

The Belgian is set to bolster the Arsenal attack, so let’s look at how he matches up against his competition – we are comparing Leandro Trossard (2022/23), Gabriel Martinelli (2022/23), Bukayo Saka (2022/23) and Emile Smith-Rowe (2021/22).

Goals (xG):

Trossard – 7 (4.42), Martinelli – 7 (3.96), Saka – 6 (5.81), Smith-Rowe – 10 (5.36)

Scoring frequency (goals per game):

Trossard – 189 min (0.4), Martinelli – 219 min (0.4), Saka – 256 min (0.3), Smith-Rowe – 193 min (0.3)

Shots per game (on target):

Trossard – 2.4 (1.1), Martinelli – 2.4 (1.0), Saka – 1.9 (0.7), Smith-Rowe – 1.2 (0.7)

Assists:

Trossard – 2, Martinelli – 2, Saka – 7, Smith-Rowe – 2

Big chances created (key passes):

Trossard – 1 (1.5), Martinelli – 6 (1.7), Saka – 3 (2.2), Smith-Rowe – 3 (0.9)

Touches per game:

Trossard – 46.6, Martinelli – 50.1, Saka – 50.6, Smith-Rowe – 33.1

Passes per game (passing accuracy):

Trossard – 21.9 (74%), Martinelli – 22.8 (83%), Saka – 25.8 (83%), Smith-Rowe - 20.3 (87%)

Successful dribbles per game (dribble success):

Trossard – 0.7 (37%), Martinelli – 1.7 (48%), Saka – 1.2 (38%), Smith-Rowe – 1.0 (60%)

*stats as per Sofascore

Leandro Trossard is evidently more of a finisher than a creator. His experience at LM, LW, LF and ST mean that he can fit brilliantly into Arteta’s LW role, where the player will play slightly more centrally as a LF or almost a left-sided ST.

All in all, picking up a Premier League proven player like Trossard for a total of £27m is a brilliant piece of business and could prove to go a long way for Arsenal this season.