"Another instance of Arteta's Arsenal proving people wrong" - Former Chelsea player hails 'brilliant' Gunners for incredible transfer business

Former Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino has heaped praise on Arsenal in his column for The Times, saying their signing of Leandro Trossard is another instance of Mikel Arteta proving detractors wrong.

The Gunners acquired the Belgian for a cut-price £21 million deal in January after he had reportedly fallen out with Brighton & Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi.

Arsenal first half performance was top, top level — quality and mentality ⚪️🔴🚀 #AFC

▫️ Three assists for Trossard;
▪️ Gabriel and Saliba, perfect;
▫️ €35m for Ødegaard, bargain. https://t.co/LVsuT2Q4bl

Since joining, Leandro Trossard has fit the club like a hand in a glove, providing five assists and even netting once for the club. His performances against Fulham drew a lot of praise from all over as Trossard provided three first-half assists, creating a new Premier League record. He became the first away player in league history to achieve the feat.

In the wake of the Belgian's exploits, former Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino wrote in The Times (via HITC):

"When Arsenal started their charge at the top of the table one of the problems that people said would hold them back was that they didn't have a strong squad. They had a good starting XI but there wasn't sufficient squad depth to mount a title challenge.

"But this is another instance of Arteta's Arsenal proving people wrong. The signing of Leandro Trossard has been brilliant. Not only does he provide cover for a number of positions but also he's given Arsenal another way of playing with this fluid front line alongside Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli - they've gelled quickly."

Trossard has made an instant impact with six goal contributions in the league, helping the Gunners maintain a five-point lead at the summit.

Arsenal will look to progress in the Europa League

Despite being a fairly successful club domestically, the Gunners have not been able to say the same about their record in European competitions.

Aside from the old Fairs Cup and Cup Winners' Cup, the best Arsenal have achieved are two finals - one in the Champions League against Barcelona in 2006, and the other in the Europa League against Chelsea in 2019.

However, they ended up on the losing side on both occasions as their European hoodoo continued.

Mikel Arteta's men qualified for the Europa League Round of 16 after topping their group with 15 points. They played out a 2-2 draw against Sporting in Lisbon in the first leg and will host Ruben Amorim's team at the Emirates Stadium for the return leg on Thursday, March 16.