Further review of the Arsenal no. 19’s recapturing of form at just the right time.
You know, I did consider making this piece about the outrage that has followed in the aftermath of the controversial VAR call that ruled out West Ham’s equalizer, allowing Arsenal to earn three crucial points as they try to clinch the Premier League title. But at this juncture, it feels like a waste to write another couple thousand words on how something about the Gunners makes the general public absolutely rabid. Frankly, the widespread epidemic that is Arsenal Derangement Syndrome has gotten so painfully tedious.
The eventual call was correct; David Raya was fouled in the buildup to Callum Wilson’s strike. However, so many people hate this club — including many who work in English football media — that they are almost biologically compelled to discard objectivity and professionalism in order to pursue that pastime. We know this.
However, I occasionally forget how far into the depths of cynicism some so-called journalists are willing to descend. So when I saw that the Daily Mail published a glorified gossip piece on the state of Leandro Trossard’s marriage ahead of Arsenal’s trip to London Stadium, I shook my head in amazement. There could be no question about the timing. Clearly, it was released ahead of the Gunners’ crucial clash in order to unsettle one of their most reliable forwards.
Which made it all the more satisfying when the Belgian fired in what ultimately was the winner for Mikel Arteta’s men. Martin Ødegaard created the goal, orchestrating the chance with a mazy run into West Ham’s box with the help of a give-and-go with Declan Rice before perfectly teeing up Trossard with a ball laid off right onto his preferred foot. But the Arsenal no. 19 did well to separate from his man in a crowded penalty area before striking the ball sweetly and first-time in order to prevent Tomáš Souček from blocking the attempt. Trossard’s shot did take a deflection but it was a beneficial one. And as the ball skipped past Mads Hermansen into the back of the net, the away end and countless living rooms and sports bars around the world erupted with joy.
It’s a goal that may very well go down in history. And a few weeks ago, it was hard to imagine Trossard scoring it.
That is because his goal against West Ham was the Belgian’s first of 2026. Throughout this calendar year, the former Brighton man has looked like a shadow of the player we’ve come to know since his arrival three Januarys ago. The fears of many from the start of the season — that the 31-year-old would plummet off the dreaded age cliff at an inopportune moment — were all but confirmed. And with Gabriel Martinelli also performing inconsistently while Eberechi Eze has been viewed more as a central creative presence, Trossard fading from relevance meant that the left side of Arsenal’s attack devolved into an ineffective vacuum.
But in the last few weeks the forward has burst back onto the scene, contributing in a big way at the business end of the campaign. And I would say that the signs of a redemption tour were there. In particular, I think back to that last-gasp chance Kai Havertz squandered at Manchester City. Down 2-1 in the 95th minute, the German headed just over the crossbar after making contact with a cross that had been perfect whipped in from the right flank. The player who had crafted that opportunity was none other than Trossard. In the aftermath of the loss, as I was coming to grips with the fact that Arsenal had flushed away their lead at the top of the table, I couldn’t help but wonder if the Belgian still had something left in the tank.
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It turns out he did. A couple weeks later, Trossard started at home to Fulham and proceeded to put up an excellent showing. He took the joint-most shots in the match (four), completed the most dribbles (six, which is rather astonishing), finished with a passing accuracy of 92%, and created two big chances. One of those big chances led to Arsenal’s third goal and Viktor Gyökeres’ second, capping off a rather perfect first half.
Up next was a visit to the Emirates Stadium from Atlético Madrid in the second leg of Arsenal’s Champions League semifinal tie. This time around Trossard bettered his passing accuracy, hitting 94% on the night. But the Gunners were far from as rampant offensively as they were against Fulham. This was a different match, one that required grit and defensive solidity. You wouldn’t be blamed for not associating those things with Trossard.
But the Belgian adapted and worked his socks off to help his side grind out a narrow win. Over the course of the match he ran almost ten kilometers and contributed heavily off the ball. Trossard finished with four tackles, a headed clearance, and ten ball recoveries. He was all over the pitch, snapping up second balls and even popping up on the right flank at times.
Of course, his biggest involvement came in the final third. Near the end of the first half in north London, with the aggregate score between the two sides level at 1-1, Gyökeres fired in a cross that fell to Trossard’s feet. The Belgian tried a shot, which forced Jan Oblak to parry the ball into the path of Bukayo Saka. The resulting goal proved to be the winner, sending Arsenal to their first Champions League final in 20 years.
On Sunday, Trossard made it three matches in a row in which he had made a significant impact in front of goal. And he’s done it at a time when Arsenal players have needed to stand up and be counted, to grab onto an opportunity to become a legend with both hands and not let go. It’s winning time. It’s the moment when champions drag title charges over the line and achieve immortality.
Saka has certainly shown that he wants it. As has Gyökeres, who has produced some of the best displays of his first season at Arsenal. David Raya has continued a tremendous campaign and Myles Lewis-Skelly has announced himself as a bona fide midfield general.
But when they’ve needed something more, when the Gunners have required a moment of daring brilliance to clinch a result, Trossard has roared back to life in the nick of time. Arsenal’s moody little Belgian, their Alexis Sánchez of Andrei Arshavins, who never looks like he’s gotten a good night’s sleep but has the energy of a chipmunk emerging after a winter of torpor in its burrow, has returned at just the right moment. Three wins away from undeniable glory, the forward looks like himself.
We will probably never really know why things have clicked now. And nor should we, perhaps. I’ll do better than the Daily Mail have and not speculate about Trossard’s marital situation — a bar low enough to trip over, I’m aware — but I do hope whatever the issue was, it has resolved itself.
Additionally, I wonder if the Belgian has returned to full fitness. He missed multiple games in March with a hip injury and saw limited minutes in April, typically coming on as a substitute for a run of several matches after Arsenal’s 1-0 win at Sporting. He remained on the bench during the victory against Newcastle. It’s so difficult to know what goes on behind the scenes fitness-wise, but that doesn’t indicate that Trossard was operating at 100%.
Maybe this is all simply down to the player realizing what this moment could mean for him personally. After all, he’s on the wrong side of 30 as a forward in the most competitive league in European football. This could very well be his final season at Arsenal; the club certainly look like they’re going to sign a left winger in the summer, which means one of Trossard and Martinelli must depart.
Perhaps I’m projecting, but I’m sure these are calculations the Belgian has done already. And to me, he looks like a player who knows this could be his last chance to win a Premier League title. It will probably be the only time he makes a Champions League final as well. At the end of the day, it’s actually not all that surprising that Trossard is doing his utmost to propel his team to success now that things have clicked for him again. Understandably, he’d want his time at Arsenal to end on the best note possible.
If he is able to help seal even just the Premier League title (with the least possible emphasis on the word “just”), Trossard will undoubtedly become an Arsenal legend. He will live out his days as a cult hero in club folklore, a key figure in the Gunners’ long-awaited return to the summit of English football. And he certainly would feature in the conversation for the club’s best-ever signing given the bang Arsenal have received for their buck. His passionate celebration following his winner at West Ham suggests he knows all that. Hopefully he’ll begin to know what all those things feel like in a few weeks’ time.
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