Arsenal maintained their unbeaten start to the Premier League campaign with a 2-2 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
“They have had two bids rejected but their [Arsenal's] interest remains strong. There is optimism at the Emirates Stadium that with patience they will get this done given that the player has very clearly indicated that he would like to join them.”
These are the words of The Athletic's David Ornstein, spoken to NBC Sports in January 2023, prior to Manchester City's clash against Chelsea in the Premier League.
The esteemed journalist is delineating the high-profile transfer situation surrounding Arsenal's long-term interest in exciting winger Mykhailo Mudryk, who had been in awe-inspiring form with Shakhtar Donetsk in his homeland, and scored in Saturday's recent draw.
Sky Sports, however, revealed that free-spending Chelsea were considering entering the race for the coveted winger, and indeed ultimately snatched Mudryk from Gunners sporting director Edu's nose, signing the 22-year-old for a whopping £88.5m.
It was a moment of great poignancy at the time, for Arsenal, despite being firmly ensconced in first place in the division, had seen their prime target swiped by a Blues side who, for all their lavish opulence, were flattering to deceive, moored in the middle of the league table.
Hindsight so often proves to be a wonderful thing, as the adage goes, and the Ukrainian would contribute to the woes at Stamford Bridge with just two assists and no goals from 15 appearances during the 2022/23 English top-flight season.
Mikel Arteta, meanwhile, was relishing in the success of a transfer of a far shrewder nature, securing a £27m deal for Brighton & Hove Albion forward Leandro Trossard on the 21st of January, bolstering a fluid frontline with a Premier League-proven and dynamic player.
Trossard had been a crucial part of Brighton's ascendency over recent years, and proved to be a stroke of genius on Arteta and Edu's part, outshining his Chelsea counterpart considerably.
Impressive last season, the Belgian has been crucial this year and has already popped up with some massive moments to keep the squad on track, and he may well be the unsung hero in a squad bespecked in first-class quality.
How good is Leandro Trossard?
After posting 25 goals and 14 assists from 121 appearances for Brighton, Trossard joined the Arsenal fold with sights set on improving the ranks and increasing the depth amid a captivating title race against Manchester City.
And while Arteta's side agonisingly came up short, the £90k-per-week ace's involvement certainly aided the club in its exploits, especially given Gabriel Jesus' knee injury hampering his role across the latter half of the campaign.
Bagging a goal and ten assists from just 11 league starts after his transfer, Trossard has been a revelation and has opened up a new dimension to keep the team ticking.
This year, he has flipped the switch somewhat and harnessed his innate striking instinct, plundering four goals and an assist from eight matches so far, starting on just four occasions.
Scoring the winner against Everton and the equaliser against Chelsea last weekend, his capacity to pop up in decisive phases is part of the reason Arteta swooped for his services.
The first of those showings came off the bench against Manchester City in the Community Shield, where his goal in the late stages took the match to penalties, which Arsenal won to set the tone for the campaign. And it's so far so good.
Trossard ranks among the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues and European competitions over the past year for assists made per 90, as per FBref, with his performances leading broadcast journalist Buchi Laba to brand him as a "creative machine".
Strengths
Weaknesses
Crossing
Tackling
Passing
Finishing
Through balls
Key passes
Dribbling
This level of attacking ability is exactly what Arsenal need in their fight to take their progress up a notch this year and win either the Premier League or Champions League trophy.
Lofty ambitions, but such is now requisite at the Emirates Stadium; Arteta has instilled the correct mentality and the club is reaping rewards of this renewed quality.
Praised for his "perfect" start to the season by pundit Pat Nevin, the 28-cap revelation has been remarkable, no doubt, and in a very different way, and could be the manager's new star ahead of Declan Rice.
How is Declan Rice performing for Arsenal?
Rice's future was subject to much discussion in the build-up to the transfer window; everyone wanted a slice, but Arsenal had always been in pole position and they shrugged off late advances from Manchester City to secure his signature in a £105m move in July.
Since the summer, he has made 12 appearances and scored twice in the Premier League, and the fact that his goals came against Manchester United and Chelsea underscores his value and pedigree in the biggest moments.
Rice ranks among the top 20% of midfielders for goals, the top 21% for passes attempted, the top 19% for pass completion, the top 20% for progressive passes, the top 16% for progressive carries, and the top 8% for interceptions per 90.
Hailed as a "force of nature" by journalist Rob Blanchette for his exploits with West Ham, the England international is now thriving at the heart of one of Europe's most formidable outfits, very much capable of steering the club over the line in the search for silver-laden success this year.
And while he is the obvious example of how Arteta has strengthened his side over the past few transfer windows, Trossard's is the kind of capture to go somewhat under the radar amid the flood of exorbitant activity that dominates the market.
Where once Arsenal were the river that trickled into the sea, now they are the sea that flows into the river, creeping closer and closer still to a team of dominance at the forefront of European football.
There's a distance still to travel until Arsenal do indeed perch alongside the behemoths such as Real Madrid and Manchester City, perenially touted as the all-conquering units, but with signings such as Rice's bolstering the fold, the framework for lasting success is established.
The tough-tackling, turbo-charging midfielder is indeed paramount to Arteta's vision, but Trossard is the man to make the difference in key phases.
Arsenal will not always decimate the opposition, flaunt their attacking impetus and establish early leads to settle the nerves of the anticipating support, and components such as Trossard really do tip the odds in the London club's favour.
Hailed as a "magician" by writer Hayley McGoldrick, the 5 foot 7 phenom offers the multi-functionality to serve his title-chasing side in their endeavours.
The taste of silverware has already been handed to this Gunners side, salvaged through Trossard's late strike against Pep Guardiola's team in the dying embers, and with the interminable journey to the end of the campaign still in its early phase, you would not bet against this big-game star's pivotal part in the exploits yet to come.
