Arsenal reject Al-Ittihad bid for Trossard

Arsenal have rejected an offer for Leandro Trossard from Al-Ittihad and made clear that the forward is not for sale.
Al-Ittihad offered to sign the 29-year-old on loan for about £4 million, with an option to buy him on a permanent deal for about £20 million next summer. The Premier League transfer window has closed but the Saudi Pro League window for foreign players shuts on Monday.
Al-Ittihad are nine-times Saudi Pro League champions, most recently in 2023, but finished fifth last season. Karim Benzema, who joined the club from Real Madrid last year, was instrumental in ensuring that the club appointed Laurent Blanc as head coach this summer.
Arsenal signed Raheem Sterling on loan from Chelsea on Friday as they are short of attacking players, with Gabriel Jesus sidelined due to a groin issue. They would not consider losing Trossard, who has had a big impact since he joined for about £20 million, plus £7 million in add-ons, from Brighton & Hove Albion in January last year.
The Belgium international has continued his form in front of goal this season, opening the scoring as a substitute in the 2-0 win away to Aston Villa nine days ago. He scored 17 goals and recorded two assists across competitions last season. He got one goal and ten assists in 20 league appearances for Arsenal in the 2022-23 campaign.
Given his impact it may be that Trossard wants to start matches more regularly. Two of his three appearances this season have come from the bench, while he started only 18 of his 34 matches in the league last season.
Since he signed a contract until at least 2026, said to be worth about £90,000 a week, a number of other Arsenal players have had wage increases.
In May last year Bukayo Saka tripled his wages to more than £200,000 a week and in February last year Gabriel Martinelli doubled his wages to £180,000 a week. The club were on a drive to secure key players on long-term deals and reward them for their performances and success.
Of the players with shorter contracts, Oleksandr Zinchenko has two years left on his deal, which gives the club a decision to make on whether to extend or try to offload him next summer. The left back was among the players available this summer, which also included Jesus.
Mikel Merino is expected to miss seven matches after he fractured his shoulder in his first training session at the club last week.
The Spain midfielder is likely to return after the international break in October, ruling him out of four league matches, including against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City, and Champions League group matches against Atalanta and Paris Saint-Germain. He suffered the injury when Gabriel fell on top of him in training after his move from Real Sociedad for up to £31.6 million .
Arsenal will also be missing Declan Rice from midfield against local rivals Tottenham a week on Sunday.
Of the other players sidelined, Takehiro Tomiyasu has a knee injury and the defender is expected to be out for some time. Gabriel Jesus has had a groin issue but the Brazil forward hopes to return against Spurs.