Arteta must finally sell Arsenal outcast who earns more than Trossard

It was another weekend of mixed fortunes for Arsenal, as they dispatched Bournemouth to go four points clear at the top of the Premier League, only for Manchester City to instantly reduce the gap back to a single point.

Mikel Arteta‘s side might not be in the driving seat anymore, but with players like Leandro Trossard scoring for fun at the moment, they look set to carry on the fight until the very end.

The Belgian has become one of the Gunners’ most important players in recent months, and yet there is a squad player who earns more than him and summer signing Jurrien Timber, who must be sold this year.

The signings of Leandro Trossard and Jurrien Timber

The North Londoners completed the £27m signing of Trossard from Brighton & Hove Albion in January 2023 after missing out on their supposed primary target Mykhailo Mudryk to cross-city rivals Chelsea – talk about dodging a bullet.

Since moving to the capital, the versatile forward has become an integral part of Arteta’s system. He provided ten assists and scored one goal in 22 appearances last season before scoring 16 goals and providing two assists in 44 games so far this year.

The 29-year-old has been so influential in the year and a half he’s been in N5 that he has now firmly established himself as the starting leftwinger for the rest of the campaign, ahead of the incredibly talented youngster Gabriel Martinelli and all while earning the relatively modest – in the world of football – wage of £90k-per-week.

On the other hand, Timber – who also makes £90k-per-week – hasn’t been able to prove his worth in England as, after making his £38m move from Dutch giants Ajax in the summer, he played just 50 minutes of Premier League football before suffering from an ACL injury which has seen him remain out of action to this day.

However, the “intelligent, mature, and versatile young defender,” as talent scout Jacek Kulig described him, proved his worth in Amsterdam before coming to London. He made 121 appearances for Die Godenzonen, scoring six goals and providing four assists.

Overall, both stars have shown why they should be earning the salary they are, but this cannot be said for a Hale End graduate who is making more than both while playing little to no role in the first team this year.

Wage Burners

Football FanCast’s Wage Burners series explores the salaries of the modern-day game.

Why Reiss Nelson has to be sold

Nelson has been with Arsenal since the age of eight and has been in and around the first team for six years, since making his debut in the 2017 Community Shield.

However, aside from the odd goal here and there – including that last-minute winner against Bournemouth last season – he’s struggled to have a tangible impact on the first team’s fortunes.

The Elephant and Castle-born winger has made just 89 appearances for Arsenal since his debut, in which he has scored eight goals and provided nine assists, which, while not a terrible return, is nothing special, which makes the fact he was offered a £100k-per-week contract last summer all the more perplexing.

In all, when taking into account the money the 24-year-old has earned in the seasons he has been in London – he spent two seasons on loan – he has cost the Gunners around £9.2m in wages, which can be broken down to £103k-per-appearance, £1.1m-per-goal, or £1m-per-assist.

In other words, from a financial or footballing perspective, it’s not been a beneficial deal for the club.

So, with Football Transfers reporting late last week that Crystal Palace are interested in bringing the Hale End graduate to Selhurst Park in the summer, it might be high time for Edu and Arteta to let him go and finally cash in on a player who hasn’t justified his wages in red and white.

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