Jamie Redknapp believes Arsenal made a good move by not getting Mkyhailo Mudryk and instead signing ‘excellent’ Leandro Trossard instead.
Trossard scored the first goal in Arsenal’s 2-0 victory at Wolves on Saturday night, which has put the Gunners back at the top of the Premier League, although they have played one more game than Manchester City.
The Belgian player’s amazing goal helped calm his team’s nerves at Molineux before Martin Odegaard scored in injury time to secure three points.
Even though he is not always in Mikel Arteta’s starting XI, the forward has had a great impact since moving to the Emirates from Brighton in January 2023.
This is even more impressive considering that he was not Arteta’s first choice, as Arsenal had pursued Mudryk for several months before backing out of a deal after Shakhtar Donetsk demanded too high a fee.
Chelsea quickly signed the Ukrainian for a huge £88million, but the winger has only scored six goals and made four assists in 51 appearances for the Blues.
‘If I remember correctly, they were trying to get Mudryk. They didn’t get him, he chose to go to Chelsea and they paid a lot of money for him, and he [Trossard] was probably the second choice,’ Liverpool icon Redknapp said on Sky Sports.
‘But if you compare the two careers up to now – and there’s no guarantee that Mudryk can’t still have a good career at Chelsea – Trossard has been an excellent signing.
‘He comes up with important goals. He provides width, and he’s comfortable on the ball.
‘When you are looking to add players to the squad, you have to make sure you bring in the right type, and he’s definitely that. £27m is a great deal for a fantastic player, technically skilled, who can score a goal.
‘I know Odegaard got the second goal, but that was a crucial moment for their season.’
Speaking after the game, Trossard himself added: ‘The determination has been superb.
‘It’s always tough when you lose a game, but the boys showed amazing character and mentality. If we win our own games, then we’ll see what happens.
‘The boss wants everyone to sprint back when there’s a counter and get involved on the defensive side. We’re all eager to win the second ball as it’s really important nowadays in football.
‘I think it was very impressive, we played really well and had control most of the time. They are a good side, of course, and they tried to hurt us on the counter, but we handled it well. We could have scored more, but we’re happy with the clean sheet.’
Arsenal and Trossard will face Chelsea and Mudryk on Tuesday night, with the Gunners aiming to increase their lead at the top of the table.
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