Henry Waddon 
This month marks the three-year anniversary of Leandro Trossard joining our storied club.
Here's Gooner Fanzine print writer Henry Waddon on Leo Trossard: Hall of Famer.
A sliding doors moment if ever there was one.
Signed under a cloud of uncertainty and a smidge of chaos in the midst of the Mykhailo Mudryk affair, many assumed that the Belgian’s recruitment was intended to bolster the squad as a cromulent, functional rotation option.
But our beloved, sleep-deprived wonder had absolutely no such intentions. He came here to score big, big goals, and to render himself unimpeachable. Leo Trossard has spent the last three years constantly being at the scene of the crime in Arsenal’s very, very biggest moments - and the Belgian always has blood on his hands.
Bayern. Chelsea. Everton. Leicester, Brighton, Liverpool. Porto, for Christ’s sake. He scored game-changing, season-defining goals against them all. He came to be unignorable as a Big Match Player, and as a character capable of rising to the most dramatic of denouements.
But as we headed into the 2025-26 season, a sizable majority of the Arsenal faithful (myself very much included) had made our peace with Leo’s seemingly inevitable departure. A logical evolution, the circle of life, natural selection - Leo heading out the door seemingly made way for younger, hungry members of our team, and would’ve added some much-needed funds to our transfer float for the windows ahead.
Yet, somehow, Leo has elevated himself head-and-shoulder above a staunch and competitive field, and is now undroppable in the left-wing role. Like a fine wine, he just gets better and better as the cruel sands of time run on. In the past four months, he’s won us some tricky fixtures against the likes of Fulham and Atletic Bilbao, and tucked away some trademark highlight-reel-finishes in demolition jobs against Villa and Spurs. He sits in the 91st percentile of assists-per-90 across the Big Five Leagues, and has made enormous, gargantuan strides in his defensive contributions.
He’s also evidently becoming a leader in the dressing room.
To paraphrase a Mobb Deep song - he wears ‘19’ but his mind is older. Utilising the eye test, I couldn’t help but notice him producing encouraging gesticulations and iterating short-but-sweet instructions to the likes of Gyokeres, Hincapie and our very own resurrected Gabriel Jesus. He’s become integral - essential - to Arsenal Football Club, and to any success that may lay ahead of us
I feel oddly, undeservedly, confusingly proud of Leandro Trossard. Every time he makes a recovery tackle, or wins a corner, or (best of all) whips out his trademark binocular-simulating celebration, I find myself positively Jonesing at the chance to belt out a chorus of “Leooooo, Leoooo, Leoooo” before reverting to the old classic, ‘Trossard Again Ole Ole’, a testament to this player’s consistency, reliability, and inevitability.
I f***ing love this clinical little b*stard. Leo Trossard is our cult-hero elect, a future-fabelled fan favourite, a Hall-of-Famer in-waiting.
Thursday. Under the lights. Liverpool. Leonardo Trossard. Make sure you’re seated. Our Belgian’s brewing something.
