Welcome and Goodbye Trusty!!!
Auston Trusty has been around the block for a while, but his Arsenal journey began in 2020, when the Gunners signed him up from KSE-owned Colorado Rapids. After staying back with the American team to finish the MLS campaign, he moved to North London and was immediately shipped out on loan where he featured consistently for Birmingham City.
In 44 games for Birmingham City in the Championship, Trusty scored four goals, including a brace in the 3-0 win over Bristol. He used his tall 1.91m frame to great effect, averaging 3.1 aerial duels won per match. Reviewing his other defensive stats on WhoScored, Trusty averaged 2.3 tackles per match, 1.5 interceptions per match, four clearances per match, 1.1 fouls committed per match and 0.8 blocks per match. His passing stats leave a lot to be desired with an average of 32 passes per match, 1.6 long balls per match and a pass completion percentage of 68.7 percent.
His performances were so great that he was named the Birmingham City Player of the Year award, which was a testament of his footballing service to the club. With newly-promoted side, Sheffield United, losing Iliman Ndiaye to Olympique Marseille, they turned their attention rather swiftly to Trusty, and approached Arsenal for his services. Within days, terms were agreed (a reported £5 million), Trusty completed his medical and Arsenal has officially announced that he has completed his move to Sheffield United.
Following the completion of the move, Sporting Director, Edu Gaspar, had this to say regarding the transfer,
“We are so proud to see how far Auston has come and the journey he has been on. If you look at him when he joined us compared to now when he is leaving us, he has achieved so much.
“We see him now, a USA international having won Player of the Season with Birmingham City in a competitive league, which you have to remember was his first in English football. He now moves to a Premier League club where he will play top-flight football.
“Everyone involved in Auston’s progression to this point should have great satisfaction in the steps he has taken, moving on to this new challenge.”
Arsenal had spent over £200 million to complete the signings of Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice and it has been well publicized that Edu and Arteta want the squad to be trimmed down, with the most notable departures, if you exclude the youngsters, being Pablo Mari, Granit Xhaka and now, Auston Trusty, for a reported £32 million.
As a left-sided center back, Trusty was never going to get ahead of Gabriel, Jakub Kiwior and the Swiss Army Knife, Takehiro Tomiyasu, that consistently features as a center back for Japan, so a move to another Premier League team that will clearly be fighting to retain their status in the division will be an interesting battle for Trusty.
I wish him all the best and I hope I get to see him play consistently, as an avid Premier League lover that I am.
In other news, Arsenal has taken their transfer saga with David Raya up a notch by placing a bid of £23 million for his services. This includes a fixed fee of £20 million and extra £3 million in performance-related add-ons. Raya has already agreed personal terms with Arsenal, so the meat of this proposed transfer would be the ongoing discussions between Arsenal and Brentford for an agreeable transfer fee. The ITKs say that Brentford £40 million for Raya, and have already purchased Mark Flekken in anticipation of their main goalie’s imminent departure.
Flekken hasn’t filled anyone with confidence from his debut performances in the Premier League Summer Series preseason tournament, but I guess those early nerves will be settled when he’s probably assured of the No. 1 jersey when Raya leaves. However, you have to feel for Thomas Strakosha that left consistent first-team football at Lazio for the allure of the Premier League, only to rot on the bench for an entire campaign, and see his place taken by another in his second season with the club. After notching up 208 appearances for Lazio in six seasons, Strakosha has only played twice for Brentford – one FA Cup game and one Carabao Cup game.
At Arsenal, the signing of Raya will have a significant impact on our current reserve goalie, Matt Turner, who is heavily linked with a move to Nottingham Forest, but word on the street is that Nottingham Forest owes millions of pounds to some of their players and agents, who are planning to take legal action if those overdue payments aren’t honored. Following promotion from the Championship last season, the club signed a whopping 21 players and flirted with relegation for the entire campaign. This summer has seen them sign three more players – retaining Chris Wood after his successful loan spell, Anthony Elanga from Manchester United and ex-Fulham fullback, Ola Aina.
With Keylor Navas returning to Paris St. Germain and the club struggling to reach an agreement with Manchester United over the services of Dean Henderson, Nottingham Forest currently has two goalkeepers in their books – the veteran, Wayne Hennessey, and the returning Ethan Horvath, that had a successful loan spell in the Championship with Luton Town.
Turner would know that Raya’s arrival will spell the end of his short Arsenal stint, and if you add Ramsdale, Karl Hein, Arthur Okonkwo and Runar Alex Runarsson, Raya’s imminent arrival would mean that Arsenal will have six goalkeepers on their books, which is unprecedented. For a club that has been wailing about how they need to trim the squad, something drastic has to be done about the goalkeeping department.
I fully expect Brentford to reject Arsenal’s offer of £23 million and the Gunners resolve will be tested on the transfer.
Speaking of Arsenal keepers, I’d urge you all to get a read of this fantastic article on Aaron Ramsdale tagged Oh Shut Up, Ramsdale on the Players Tribune. It’s really amazing to see what goes on in the personal life of footballers when they choose to open up. Our amazing goalkeeper’s wife suffered a miscarriage last season, and he just soldiered on the pitch, going through that emotional rollercoaster while trying to focus on his job. Trust me, it’s worth a read.
Sayonara.
Follow Gooner Daily on Twitter @goonerdaily.
Visit Gooner Daily’s Facebook page.
Click on the “Follow button” to join Gooner Daily’s Mailing List
