Arsenal do not have to force a Leandro Trossard decision today. That is precisely what makes this one of the more delicate calls in Mikel Arteta’s summer.
The Mirror reported that Besiktas have made a verbal proposal worth up to €20 million for the Belgium forward, with Trossard expected to assess his future after the World Cup. That timing matters. Arsenal are trying to reshape the attack without stripping away a player who still gives them goals, disguise and late-game composure.
The complication is that Trossard’s tournament has kept his value visible. Belgium’s extraordinary 3-2 comeback against Senegal was another reminder of his volatility and usefulness:
The Sun reported he was involved in a flashpoint with Youri Tielemans during a hydration break, but he later supplied the cross for Tielemans’ 89th-minute equaliser as Belgium overturned a 2-0 deficit before Tielemans won it from the spot in extra time.
Why The Delay Helps And Hurts Arsenal
From a negotiation perspective, waiting has logic. Trossard is not a peripheral asset whose value depends on manufactured market noise. Arsenal’s own player profile notes that he signed in January 2023 and delivered a 10-goal, 10-assist campaign, evidence of a squad player with repeatable output rather than a fading name on the list.
That matters because Arteta’s attack is already being stress-tested by multiple moving parts. Bukayo Saka’s workload, Noni Madueke’s role, Kai Havertz’s centre-forward minutes and the left-sided market all feed into the same question: can Arsenal afford to lose a winger who can play across the front line before the replacement structure is secure?
- Fee pressure: €20 million is meaningful, but not transformative in the current Premier League market.
- Role pressure: Trossard remains one of Arsenal’s cleanest finishers from awkward central and left-channel positions.
- Timing pressure: a post-World Cup decision risks dragging into the phase when Arteta needs tactical clarity for pre-season.
The World Cup Has Complicated The Exit Maths
Trossard’s Belgium night against Senegal captured the contradiction. The row with Tielemans was an ugly image, but the response was pure Trossard: stay alive in the game, find the decisive delivery, leave the scoreboard looking kinder than the performance felt. That is why Arsenal cannot treat him like a simple accounting line.
There is also a squad-culture point. Selling Jakub Kiwior and moving Karl Hein has already shown Arsenal are prepared to trim decisively, but attacking depth carries a different risk. A defender leaving after a loan pathway is one calculation. A proven forward leaving while Arsenal are still measuring the market for another high-level attacker is another.
ReadArsenal has already looked at how Trossard’s Belgium form sharpened the transfer dilemma. The Besiktas approach now turns that dilemma into a calendar problem.
Arteta Needs A Clean Cut Or A Clean Commitment
The worst outcome for Arsenal is not necessarily Trossard leaving. It is Trossard lingering in uncertainty while the club try to judge whether the left wing needs one signing, two profiles or a promotion route from within the squad.
If Besiktas formalise the offer and Trossard wants the move, Arsenal should insist on speed and structure. If he wants to stay, Arteta should fold him fully into the plan rather than leaving him as a market-dependent reserve. The key is avoiding the grey zone.
Trossard has never been the loudest symbol of this Arsenal project, but he has often been the player who solves awkward games. That makes this summer decision less glamorous than the chase for a new star, and more important than it first appears.
