Leandro Trossard Joins Besiktas in £15.3m Deal

Leandro Trossard’s time in north London is over. The Belgium international has completed a permanent move from Arsenal to Besiktas, ending a productive spell that helped push the Gunners back to the top of English football.

The Turkish Super Lig club have paid a reported £15.3 million for the 31-year-old winger, who arrives in Istanbul with the pedigree of a Premier League champion and a 2026 World Cup appearance on his CV.

Trossard joined Arsenal from Brighton in January 2023, a mid-season signing who slotted straight into Mikel Arteta’s high-tempo, high-pressure system. He quickly became one of the manager’s most trusted attacking options, capable of operating across the front line and knitting moves together in tight spaces.

Across all competitions, he pulled on the Arsenal shirt 174 times, scoring 36 goals and supplying 34 assists. Those numbers tell only part of the story. Trossard often thrived in the shadows of bigger names, linking play, dragging defenders out of position, and giving Arteta the tactical flexibility that underpinned Arsenal’s resurgence.

His contribution peaked last season as Arsenal finally reclaimed the Premier League title, ending a wait that had stretched for more than two decades. While others grabbed the headlines, Trossard’s end product and experience were vital in navigating a gruelling title race.

Arsenal marked his departure with a warm tribute, stating: “Everyone at Arsenal would like to thank Leo for his valued contribution to the club and wish him all the best for his future.”

For Besiktas, this is a statement signing: a proven top-flight attacker, fresh from a title-winning campaign in England, now stepping into a new stage of his career in Turkey.

For Trossard, it is a clean break and a fresh challenge. From Brighton to Arsenal glory and now the cauldron of Istanbul, his journey has rarely followed the quiet path.