Arsenal sign Brighton winger Leandro Trossard for £21m - with Mikel Arteta hopeful that the Belgian can play in title crunch match against Manchester United

Arsenal have signed Leandro Trossard on a four-and-a-half-year contract for an initial £21m from Brighton, with the 28-year-old in contention to make his Gunners debut on Sunday in a crunch clash with fellow title contenders Manchester United. 

Trossard's future at the Amex came under scrutiny following a falling-out with Seagulls head coach Roberto De Zerbi that the Italian claimed was due to the winger leaving training early without speaking to him after being left out of the starting XI for the FA Cup third-round tie at Middlesbrough earlier this month. 

That led to an impassioned statement from the player's agent, Josy Comhair, who said that his client had received permission from medical staff to leave the session due to a calf complaint and had been mistreated by his boss prior to that point, leaving him "humiliated". 

Trossard was not even in the squad for Brighton's latest match, a 3-0 win over Liverpool, with the move to the Premier League leaders allowing them to strengthen their bench ahead of a testing second half of the campaign in pursuit of their first title since the 2003/04 Invincibles season. 

Speaking about the conversations he had with his new manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu, Trossard said: "They told me they really like me as a player, that I would really suit the system and how they want to play.

"It helps me that I'm versatile and that I can play in different positions. They're looking forward to working with me and vice versa. I'm really excited to work with them and I think Mikel is a top coach.

"I like to be in the pocket behind the striker. On the wings, I can express myself as well. I'm comfortable in either of those positions, but if I were to choose, behind the striker - it all depends on the system.

"I think I'm good in 1v1s. I'm composed in the box, so if I get chances, I can finish them off. I can hopefully help the team to win tough games - I'm great in tight spaces. I'm quite experienced as well, so I hope I can bring that to the team."

It was Graham Potter who brought Trossard to England in 2019, with the attacker going on to register 25 goals and 13 assists in 122 appearances for Brighton across all competitions, including seven goals and two assists in 17 matches this season. 

On his latest recruit, Arteta said: "We're really happy to have him. He's a player we have followed for a while now.

"The opportunity came and we have the necessity to have a player in the front line that is versatile enough to to play different positions.

"We have to think short term but also medium and long term, and I think he gives us all that. He's a very intelligent player.

"When you look at his career and what he has done in the last few years, he is a player who fits our way of playing for sure and we are happy to have him."

Trossard trained with his new team-mates on Friday and could well feature against Erik ten Hag's men on Sunday providing that the necessary paperwork is approved in time, with Arsenal currently eight points ahead of the third-placed Red Devils having played a game fewer than their rivals.