Before his move to Sheffield United, the American defender featured for Arsenal in 2023 during a pre-season tour of the United States. During this time, he played against the MLS All-Stars, with the Gunners running out 5-0 winners in Washington.
However, in a new interview with Goal.com, 27-year-old Trusty revealed that Arsenal tore his side's efforts to shreds post-match. "I remember we won 5-0 and Arteta was so mad at us," he said.
"He was so mad at the team. He thought guys weren't trying. That's when I knew the level was different. This was an MLS All-Star game, a preseason friendly. The fact that we won 5-0 and still had things that we were screamed at for in that game? Arteta said we weren't trying.
"It's a whole different mindset, and that was my first experience of, 'Whoa, this is a different culture'."
On his early days playing football in Philadelphia, Trusty continued, "Growing up close to Philadelphia, I had to beg my friends to play soccer. If you weren't close to me, you probably didn't even know I played.
"When I signed pro, people didn't even know I played. People knew me as a basketball and baseball guy. I didn't tell them because soccer was never the topic, and people didn't really care. They just cared about basketball stories.
"There was no pathway. No academy stars had done it before. I was an example of how to do it."