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

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta reacts during the English Premier League football match between Luton Town and Arsenal at Kenilworth Road in Luton, north of London on December 5, 2023. — Mikel Arteta is making big moves this summer (Image credit: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

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.

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

&nbsp;(R) Arsenal Managing Director Richard Garlick with (L) new Sporting Director Andrea Berta at Sobha Realty Training Centre on March 30, 2025 in London Colney, England. — Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta (left) is progressing with moves (Image credit: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

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.

Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres looks destined for Premier League football this summer — Viktor Gyokeres is on the cusp of moving to Arsenal (Image credit: Getty Images)

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.

Leandro Trossard of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Leicester City FC at Emirates Stadium on September 28, 2024 in London, England. — Leandro Trossard could be approaching the end of the road at Arsenal (Image credit: Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images)

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.

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Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.

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