Alan Shearer in shock as he admits forgetting about £27m Arsenal star

Alan Shearer admitted that Arsenal’s new attacking depth caused him to forget about Leandro Trossard. The Gunners have been busy in the transfer market this summer, causing the Premier League legend to overlook other players in Mikel Arteta's squad.

Viktor Gyokeres was signed from Sporting CP as Arsenal’s new number nine, providing a solution to what has proved to be a problem position in recent seasons. The arrival of Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace, combined with the earlier signing of Noni Madueke from Chelsea, gives Arteta more options on either flank.

Much attention has naturally been paid to the team’s new recruits. However, Bukayo Saka’s injury during the Gunners’ 5-0 win over Leeds United led Shearer to be reminded of Trossard’s quality.

Despite Saka and Martin Odegaard being forced off against Leeds, Shearer praised Arsenal’s squad depth. “Yeah but then I was thinking, ‘Goodness me, look at the players that they’ve brought on.’ They brought Trossard on, I forgot about him,” Shearer admitted on the Rest is Football podcast.

“Then you’ve got Eze to come in, Martinelli. I mean, the numbers they’ve got are really incredible now, the squad that Arsenal have got. So they have to go on and they have to win something pretty big this season, but they’ve made a good start.

It wasn’t a great performance at United but they got the right result. Much, much better [against Leeds]. So that will give them good belief going forward as well.”

Trossard recently agreed to improved contract terms at Arsenal, with his deal still set to run until 2027, following reported interest from other clubs. The Belgian forward has proven to be an impactful player for Arteta’s team since arriving from Brighton for £27million in January 2023. The 30-year-old has scored 28 goals and provided 23 assists across 125 appearances.

Trossard was introduced shortly after the interval against Leeds at the weekend. Ethan Nwaneri had already replaced Martin Odegaard in the first half, while youngster Max Dowman also impressed on his Premier League debut.

On the left wing, Madueke started ahead of Gabriel Martinelli, who was an unused substitute. Meanwhile, Eze was presented as an Arsenal player at the Emirates Stadium before kick-off.

Arsenal demonstrated their attacking threat by scoring five against newly-promoted Leeds. It proved to be a milestone game for Gyokeres, who opened his account for the club with an impressive solo effort before scoring a penalty late on, and Shearer discussed how Arsenal’s wide players can help get the best out of the Swedish striker.

“Saka is brilliant at going past players, so you don’t want to stop that. Madueke is, Eze is,” he explained. “You don’t want to stop what they’re good at. But you’ve also got to sometimes cross the ball.

“Putting balls into [Gyokeres’] feet, putting balls first time, like his goal. It was 90 seconds after half-time and I’m absolutely certain Arteta said something to them about playing the first-time ball over rather than taking a touch.”

Podcast host Gary Lineker agreed with Shearer’s point about Arsenal’s wingers crossing the ball more often, but suggested that it is a period of adaptation for the Gunners. “You’ve got intelligent footballers like Saka and Eze, who will probably play on the left-hand side. They’re going to know what he wants and they can deliver that,” Lineker said.

“And there’s a sense, perhaps of last season, bececause they didn’t have that in the middle, that’s probably why they didn’t cross, but they’ll work that out.“

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