He doesn’t have the red streak in his hair and he doesn’t have the cheekbones of a Calvin Klein model, but in so many other ways Leandro Trossard is proving he is Freddie Ljungberg reborn for Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta’s side’s title challenge this year has been built on collective strength, defensive solidity and, increasingly, Trossard’s goals. He is performing surprisingly often at this decisive moment of the campaign, just as Ljungberg did for Arsenal in their run to the 2002 title.
In his last seven Premier League games, dating back to early April, Trossard has scored five goals, including the crucial winner against Manchester United on Sunday. In his last six league games from April to May 2002, Ljungberg scored six goals.
These are remarkable echoes from the club’s history, not least because the two players are so similar in status and positioning.
Neither Trossard nor Ljungberg are considered the main strikers of their respective teams. Trossard will never be as feared by opposition defenders as Bukayo Saka, just as Ljungberg was never as fearsome as Thierry Henry. But every team chasing the title needs a player like this, a striker who can make crucial interventions when the other stars are not shining.
There are even similarities between the nature of the goals scored by the two attackers. Many of Ljungberg’s goals in that incredible spring of 2002 came at the end of quick runs from the left wing, as did Trossard’s run from the left to convert Kai Havertz’s cross at Old Trafford.
Both players also have the knack of being in the right place at the right time. Two of Ljungberg’s goals in his 2002 hot streak were scored from inside the six-yard box, tapped in from close range. Trossard scored his goal from just a few yards out against United, and was also in the perfect position to finish against Bournemouth last week.
They even share a love for the spectacular. Trossard’s goal at Wolves last month that set Arsenal on their way to victory was a bull’s-eye that flew into the top corner from the edge of the penalty area. Ljungberg broke the deadlock against Ipswich in April 2002 with an equally clever strike, on the turn and through the opposition bodies.
With seventeen goals in all competitions this season and twelve in the Premier League, this was Trossard’s most productive season in English football. How many goals did Ljungberg score in 2001/02? You guessed it. Seventeen in all competitions and twelve in the Premier League.
Also consider this: in 2002, Arsenal’s last two games were against United at Old Trafford, where they won 1-0, and against Everton at home. Next weekend, Arteta’s Arsenal will play their final game of the season against… Everton at home. Is this all just a coincidence, or a meaningful twist of fate? If Arsenal’s players believe in the latter, it might really get them over the line.
For Trossard individually, this has been a season in which he has proven to be so much more than a useful selection player. Instead, he has become an established top-class striker, with Gabriel Martinelli relegated to the substitute role in recent weeks.
So far this season, Trossard has scored one goal every 128 minutes – by some distance the best result of any player in Arteta’s squad. The way he’s going, the Belgian could soon write himself into the club’s history books, perhaps taking a place alongside a famous, flame-throwing Swede from Arsenal’s past.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
