Major Arsenal move on the cards, following 'real surprise' u-turn after contract talks: report

Arsenal have made a huge u-turn over an upcoming deal.

The Gunners are hard at work in the transfer market, having recently announced the signings of Spanish pair Kepa Arrizabalaga and Martin Zubimendi, with Christian Norgaard expected in the coming days.

But with another defender and potentially three new forwards all joining the club before deadline day, Arsenal may have to speculate to accumulate this summer.

Arsenal in major u-turn over deal that looked to be progressing

After a slow start to the transfer window, Arsenal are now in the thick of confirming transfers and finalising their squad ahead of a preseason tour to Singapore later this month.

FourFourTwo understands that manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta want to get striker in before preseason properly begins, with Viktor Gyokeres said to be close to joining – while moves for the likes of Rodrygo, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke are bubbling in the background.

In terms of outgoings, there may be a shock departure in the form of Leandro Trossard, with trusted Belgian football and transfer expert Sacha Tavolieri sharing the latest on the 29-year-old's status at Arsenal.

Writing for Sky Sports Switzerland, Tavolieri has detailed the “real surprise” in a change of plan, as Trossard was in talks for a contract extension in N5 – but with Berta new to the club and wanting “new profiles”, Arsenal could apparently consider a sale of just €20 million.

“Leandro Trossard [getting] a new agent reshuffles all the cards for his future, and the interest of Saudi clubs, –which came at the end of the 2024 summer transfer window – could be considered more carefully during this transfer window,” Tavolieri writes.

FourFourTwo understands that the change in agent for Trossard could well be unrelated to a potential move away from Arsenal – but given that transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has confirmed in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that rumours of a Gabriel Martinelli exit to Saudi Arabia are “wide of the mark”, it would certainly suggest a departure for Trossard to be more likely.

Tavolieri is a trusted source when it comes to Belgian players and given that Trossard is approaching 30 and the final year of his contract – coupled with the player's struggles towards the end of last season to force himself into Arteta's starting XI, the time certainly feels right for an exit.

Trossard is valued at €22m by Transfermarkt.