Arsenal given £92m Chelsea bragging right as Edu transfer masterclass aids in title boost

Arsenal have certainly come off better from the transfer merry-go-round that took place in 2022 when the club’s sporting director had to react after failing to sign Mykhailo Mudryk. However, fast forward to April 2024 and the man who was signed having failed to land the Ukrainian was scoring in the clash between the two clubs and another big acquisition compounded Chelsea woes in a 5-0 defeat in north London.

Mudryk was promised a Chelsea project which aimed to compete at the top when he was signed for a fee in the region of £89million. However, for an entire £62million less, Leandro Trossard has been by far the more impressive signing.

The Belgian has already scored in several big matches. Having grabbed the late equaliser at Stamford Bridge earlier in the season, he added goals against Liverpool, FC Porto, Bayern Munich and away at Wolves this past weekend before yet another hit the back of the net Tuesday night.

Trossard is not the first player that Edu has needed to pivot to during his time at the club in an initial technical director role before his last promotion. He, alongside his team including Richard Garlick, have needed to respond to a number of players choosing other pathways at the time for a variety of reasons.

Oleksandr Zinchenko arrived following Lisandro Martinez's move to Manchester United despite bids to Ajax from Arsenal. Jorginho was signed from Chelsea after they were priced out of a move for Moises Caicedo.

Then there is Mason Mount who was followed and wanted by Arsenal before he chose Manchester United. However, the player they signed instead for £65million from the Blues went on to score twice for the Gunners, Kai Havertz — both the German and Belgian costing considerably less combined than what was