Trossard to Arsenal: His tactical evolution – and how he compares to his new team-mates
Leandro Trossard He is passionate about LEGO and moving on Arsenal He has something of a missing piece he feels.
Mikel Arteta’s young side may well be at the top Premier League It’s notoriously difficult to do well in the January window without overpaying, however Adding offensive reinforcements could prove the difference between them winning this title or not.
Trossard, the 28-year-old Belgium international with 24 caps (five goals) world Cup He has 25 goals and 13 assists in 116 Premier League matches Brightonsince making his debut in August 2019. Those numbers may seem modest compared to Arsenal’s forwards, but only Neil Maupay (26) has scored more and Pascal Gross has contributed more assists (19) for Brighton since joining from Genk in his homeland.
1 – Leandro Trossard leads all Brighton players in the Premier League this season…
Objectives – 7
Expected goals – 4.4
Touches in Opp Box – 101
Creating open playing opportunities – 23
Possession won the Final Three – 20reinforces. pic.twitter.com/b3uVUXY2YU
– OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 19, 2023
So now that he’s signed, tactically what kind of player is Trossard, where might he fit into the Arsenal side and how does he compare to what they already have?
“He has to be the right player to take us to the next level,” Arsenal boss Arteta said last month, when asked about potential transfer activity in the January window.
Trossard will not be seen as a marquee signing the way Mikhailo Modric could have been, but Arsenal need a deep forward – winger one. Gabriel Martinelli And Bukayo Saka He has played more than 94 per cent of Premier League minutes this season, with attacking midfielder Martin Odegaard coming close to 88.7 per cent.
Eddie Nketiah led the line well in his absence Gabriel Jesusbut returned after surgery on a knee injury that he suffered from playing Brazil In the World Cup, however, Arteta relied on a consistent formation and form at the start.
Therefore, the arrival of the Trossard, which provides a variety of situations, gives the Arsenal manager more tactical flexibility as well as someone who can be a direct substitute for Saka, Martinelli or Odegaard if needed.
His coaches at Brighton, Graham Potter and then Roberto De Zerby, used Trossard in a multitude of roles, as shown in the positional chart below – he arrived from Genk as an inverted left winger but was played as No. 10 or No. 9, leading the line. This season 4-2-3-1 under the appointment of De Zerbi in September.
He began the season, under Potter, as a left wing-back in a 3-box-3 at Brightonespecially the lock pick Manchester UnitedThe defense found Danny Welbeck, who then squared for Gross to score the first goal in that upset win in the opening weekend at Old Trafford.
In De Zerbe’s first match in charge – after that Chelsea Lure potter to west london – away to Liverpool On 1 October, playing against Welbeck as a supporting striker, Trossard became the third visiting player to score a Premier League hat-trick at Anfield.
The first of his three goals that day symbolized the Belgian’s qualities in the final third – agility, spin and feet.
Brighton plays a diagonal ball from the right towards Welbeck on the left who beats Trent Alexander Arnold In the air and unites with the left back Pervis Estupinan To reach the edge of the area, where he found Solly Marsh in space (white arrow).
Trossard made a run for a Welbeck cross, but quickly repositioned him when he didn’t come, turning his hips and letting the March (Golden Arrow) pass through his body…
… and finishing with his non-dominant left foot – Nine of Trossard’s 25 Premier League goals have been scored with his left foot.
the athleteBrighton club writer Andy Naylor described the area of the pitch that he scores from here as a T-zonedue to the amount of goals Trossard gets from the angle between the penalty spot and the six-yard box.
But his goal at Anfield came from Trossard playing at right-back (yellow point).
Brighton build on their left, with Adam Webster overtaking Mohamed Salah with a first touch from fellow centre-back Louis Dunk’s pass…
…and Trossard runs to close the back shaft as March finds out Kaoru MitumaThe inclined run behind Alexander-Arnold…
…with the Japan The International Cross (Golden Arrow) runs all the way to Trossard. He scuffed at the end, slamming it into the ground, but who cares when it ends up in the net to complete a hat-trick against Kop at Anfield?
Trossard is a remarkably good marksman from distance, but does not tend to make darts for the flicks, having scored just three from inside the six-yard box in his Premier League career so far.
This season he has been netting at an above average rate – his most prolific streak in the Premier League.
There should have been an ease of adapting to his new club’s style of play, with Brighton modeling Arsenal in using a four-back, high-pressing and possession-based style – they had an almost identical average of wicket of the ball over their first 18 league games this year. season (Arsenal 57.1%, Brighton 56.9%).
Trossard is a better player with space and a disorganized defense to contend with from low block but his goal away to Arsenal last April is evidence he has the ability to finish one-touch cuts off.
A long pass over the defense puts Enock Mwepu in cross position, with Trossard one of the four Brighton runners towards the 18-yard box…
… But the Belgian, furthest from the ball, sees the defense fall and slows down his run, meeting the drop of a muipu (golden arrow) to find the top corner without a red shirt anywhere near him.
Assessing the evolution of his shooting, Trossard has matured as a forward, putting in efforts below speculation (average shooting distance has fallen to 14.2 yards this season, having been over 16 in all three of his Premier League campaigns) but scoring more. Ever at an average of 2.6 effort per 90 minutes.
A high concentration of goal attempts from the left side of the square may indicate the right player Arsenal’s rotation on the left side in attack9 Jesus pulls a cross and winger Martinelli plays a central role.
While his frequency of touches has remained consistent across seasons, Trossard’s touches in 2022-23 have been less dispersing – less on the right, more in the penalty area and a high volume on the left.
Trossard doesn’t have the physical goal-going game like Jesus or Martinelli with straight-line speed, but he thrives in pockets of space between the lines and can receive from defenders, link-up play with teammates, or carry the ball close to goal. It’s something of a Saka-Martinelli-Odegaard hybrid.
Martinelli is the third most statistically similar attacking midfielder or winger in the Premier League this season, but where The Brazilian is the elusive director – Receiving long passes to get a team ahead with the ball at their feet – His new teammate is best carried into the penalty area, where he cleverly manipulates the ball to escape defenders and get into better shooting positions.
This tendency to take too many touches can be detrimental, in terms of denying possession or not getting a long shot, but when it works, it raises the quality of the opportunity – Trossard’s movements in setting up the dribbling 16th shot was fourth in the last Premier League. season, tied with Jesus (then a Manchester city player).
Late winner in spurs Last April is one such example…
As was his goal at home to City in May 2021, which sparked Brighton’s home victory after trailing 2-0.
He has scored against all of the ‘big six’ and since his Premier League debut only Salah (23) and Harry Kane Of Tottenham (14) he has more goals than Troissard’s 13 against those teams.
Help him open the house to Wolves In January 2021 is a Trossard brand.
He drives past left-back Rayane Ait Nouri and makes way to cross with his dominant right foot (red arrow), checks again and then walks down the line again…
…and neglects to cross a second time, even with more space, and cuts away from Ait Nouri on his left foot…
…and the cross (Golden Arrow) for Aaron Connolly to poke the ball into the net.
Another example is his opening goal in a 4–1 home win against Potter’s Chelsea in October, in which he readjusted his run as he drove Mituma into the penalty area, receiving from the wing and then using his instep to take the ball away from the goalkeeper. Kipa Arrizabalaga.
It was the Belgian defensive striving that initiated the move, counter pressing Thiago Silva After controlling the ball incorrectly and partially blocking a pass until the ball deflected (red arrow) into Mitoma’s trajectory.
Smarterscout data, which It rates players on scales between zero and 99to track Trossard’s development since his arrival in the Premier League.
There were understandable dips from Genk’s ratings when he first arrived in English football, particularly in shooting size (59 to 27 out of 99) and carrying frequency and dribbling (82 to 45), but his game changed under Potter from a versatile striker ( five goals and five assists in 2020-21) for most out and away scorer (15 goals and five assists since the start of last season).
With Welbeck still plagued by injuries, Trossard has been Brighton’s first-choice number 9 at times in recent weeks.
The Genk Academy grad is now above average in impact defense (69 out of 99), with the picks above showing his ability to force turnovers – essential given High pressure for Arsenal.
Trossard could be the exact kind of signing Arsenal need more than they want, and his presence will be essential to them, playing more than 2,000 league minutes in each of the three completed seasons with Brighton.
He’s hoping things end well for him too – with a possible Premier League medal at stake.