Arsenal flop is now outscoring Trossard after leaving on a free transfer

We imagine most Arsenal fans just want this season to end now.

The North Londoners came into the campaign hoping to finally lift the Premier League trophy, go further in the Champions League, and maybe even pick up a domestic cup or two.

However, with one setback after another, it’s increasingly likely that the club will end the season without any silverware, especially following the news that Kai Havertz will be out until next season with a hamstring problem.

The German’s injury and the extended list of absences mean there is a very good chance that Mikel Arteta will have to start Leandro Trossard up front for the rest of the campaign, and while he’s shown real quality in recent years, he’s not been at the races this season.

In fact, an Arsène Wenger signing who was let go for nothing years ago is currently outscoring the Belgian and would probably be a welcome addition to the Gunners’ wafer-thin attack.

Arsenal’s attack this season

It’s been an odd season for Arsenal’s attack, as while there is an undeniable sense among the fans that they haven’t been clinical or dangerous enough in a multitude of games, they are still the second-top scorers in the Premier League with 49, although that is seven fewer than title rivals Liverpool, who are playing Everton tonight.

Unfortunately, it looks almost guaranteed that the North Londoners will fall further behind the Reds in this metric following Havertz’s injury, as he was the team’s top scorer with 15 goals and five assists in 34 games.

Just behind him is the also injured Saka, who managed to rack up a sensational haul of nine goals and 13 assists in 24 games, while Gabriel Martinelli is the joint-third top goalscorer with seven strikes and four assists to his name and is also out injured.

Level with the Brazilian winger is Hale End star Ethan Nwaneri, and then rounding out the top five is Gabriel Jesus, who is also on seven goals and, once again, out for the season.

Only after those five players do you reach Trossard, who, alongside Gabriel Magalhaes, has scored five goals this season, although he has also provided six assists in his 36 appearances thus far.

In short, Arsenal will need the former Brighton & Hove Albion star to be at his best for the rest of the campaign, but that seems unlikely when he’s being outscored by a player who left for free six years ago.

The former Arsenal star outscoring Trossard

So, there are several former Arsenal players enjoying successful campaigns this season, from Emile Smith Rowe and Alex Iwobi at Fulham to Alexandre Lacazette and Ainsley Maitland-Niles at Lyon.

However, in this instance, it’s Brighton & Hove Albion star Danny Welbeck who’s continued his career resurgence on the south coast this season.

The former England international joined the Gunners for around £16m in September 2014, and while he certainly wasn’t bad, he never truly shone either, and that, combined with fairly persistent injuries, meant he never really established himself as an essential member of the first team.

After five years, in which he scored 32 goals and provided 13 assists in 126 appearances, the former Manchester United gem left the club under Unai Emery and proceeded to join Watford on a free at the start of the 19/20 season.

However, following an underwhelming campaign in which he scored just three goals in 20 games, his deal was terminated by mutual consent in October 2020.

Just a couple of weeks later, the then-29-year-old joined the Seagulls on a one-year deal and has not looked back since, racking up a tally of 32 goals and ten assists in 147 games, and, as former teammate Adam Lallana said, playing at “a different level”.

This season has seen him find the back of the net six times in 22 games and provide two assists for good measure, so while he’s not quite as creative as Trossard, he’s been more lethal in front of goal.

Ultimately, Arsenal will be hopeful that the Belgian can rediscover his goalscoring form from last season for the closing months of the campaign, but we imagine Arteta would love to have Welbeck in his squad right now.