Before the international break commenced, Arsenal experienced defeat in the Carabao Cup final. They came into the game as favourites but simply left Wembley with a whimper.
The Gunners have only lost four games this season and it’s likely they’d trade another league defeat for victory over Manchester City ten days ago.
Mikel Arteta‘s side were missing a hero. It was a laboured performance, a disconnected one and they ultimately paid the price for starting their back-up goalkeeper.
That said, those in the attacking areas hardly evoked memories of a certain Aaron Ramsey in major cup finals.
What went wrong for Aaron Ramsey at Arsenal
During the later stages of Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal career, his go-to man, the clutch player in the squad, was undoubtedly Ramsey.
In Arsenal red and white, the Welshman scored three times in north London derbies, twice against Liverpool, registered five goal involvements against Manchester City and pivotally, scored twice in FA Cup finals.
He was the hero as the Gunners ended their trophy drought in 2013/14, popping up in extra time to steer the ball home.
Ramsey ultimately made 369 appearances for the Londoners but ultimately departed the club on a free transfer in rather strange circumstances during the Unai Emery era.
The Wales international departed at the end of the 2018/19 campaign. His final appearance at the Emirates Stadium ended in tears as he enjoyed a guard of honour and waved farewell.
He signed for Juventus on a free transfer, paid £400k-per-week for the pleasure of playing in Turin. It’s alright for some, isn’t it? But, why was he allowed to leave?
Well, it appeared as though Emery disregarded his status as something of a cult hero, a man for the big occasion. At the age of 28, the midfielder was in his prime but was exiting the club in which he’d grown from a boy to a man.
Recalling the events in 2022, the now 35-year-old stated: “I agreed to a contract they [Arsenal] proposed. Things went quiet for a few weeks. I was telling my agent, ‘Let’s do it,’ then all of a sudden the contract was no longer there. There was a lot of change with the manager coming. I don’t understand, I still don’t know what exactly happened.”
Well, according to Arsenal’s former Head of Football Raul Sanllehi, it was a financial decision. He said: “One of the key things for me – and I’ve seen that happening in other clubs – one of the key things is to keep the rationality in the salary balance of the team. Because of our circumstances, because of not renewing Aaron on time we were in a situation in which Aaron had incredible offers building up on the salary.
“He was really keen on staying with us, he was ready to make the effort but at the end of the whole process we had to be responsible for ourselves and protect the interests of Arsenal. We realised we were going to cause an imbalance that would have been very harmful for the team’s sake in the medium and longer term.”
Given his status as a fan favourite, the decision is still a puzzling one.
Yet, six years on from his departure, it’s now time for Arsenal to get rid of their new Ramsey.
Arsenal’s new Ramsey must leave the Emirates
When Arsenal have needed a hero in the present day, they’ve often looked towards someone like Gabriel, Declan Rice or Bukayo Saka.
Rice was the man of the hour against Real Madrid in the Champions League last season but despite his remarkable series of set-piece goals, he’s not delivered quite as many clutch moments as a certain Leandro Trossard has at Arsenal.
The Belgian has defied the odds and indeed the critics to become a hugely important part of the furniture at the Emirates.
When they signed him, it certainly raised eyebrows. The Gunners had missed out on the signature of Mykhailo Mudryk, with the speedy winger heading to Chelsea instead.
Arsenal’s recruitment team pivoted to Trossard and secured a £27m move. On reflection, that now looks like an amazing piece of business given what he’s delivered in London.
Trossard Arsenal career
Season
Games
Goals & assists
2022/23
22
11
2023/24
46
19
2024/25
56
19
2025/26
38
14
Signed in January of 2023, he ended the 2022/23 campaign with ten goal involvements (1 goal, 9 assists) for the club in his 20 Premier League appearances. Three of those assists remarkably came in one game away at Fulham.
Yet, Arteta and Co had to wait until the next season to see the best of him in front of goal. Trossard ended 2023/24 with 17 goals to his name. Only Saka scored more (20) in the squad.
Like Ramsey, he was the clutch player in Arteta’s team. In need of a big moment? Just call Trossard and he’ll answer the phone.
That season, he netted a late equaliser to rescue a point against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, bagged against Liverpool, scored again against Chelsea and found the net against Manchester United.
He also scored a vital goal against Porto in the Champions League, as well as firing home an equaliser with 14 minutes left versus Bayern Munich in the next round to salvage a 2-2 draw in their first leg quarter-final.
The Belgian has also established himself as something of a super sub. His tally of seven goals and three assists as a substitute is the most of any player in the Premier League since he joined back in January 2023.
However, things have begun to unravel for Trossard in 2025/26. Handed an improved salary last summer to keep him at the club, the winger repaid that immediately by scoring eight goals and supplying six in his first 22 matches of the season.
Yet, the forward is now goalless across his last 17 games having failed to find the net at all in 2026. Trossard has gone from being Mr Clutch to Mr Anonymous in double quick time and it’s a big problem for Arsenal.
If there is one area of Arteta’s squad that needs improving it is on the flanks and the Belgium international must be moved on to accommodate that. Gabriel Martinelli has not been much better, but he does at least show up in the cup competitions, scoring a hat-trick against Portsmouth earlier this year. He’s also on for his best goalscoring campaign since his 15-goal haul of 2022/23. Based on that, Trossard’s departure is a bigger priority.
Once an important part of the squad, a big game player of the calibre of Ramsey, it’s now time for Arsenal to move him on.
Related
Sell him before Trossard: Arsenal must cash in on their new Zinchenko
Arsenal must give their £45m signing the Oleksandr Zinchenko treatment.