One member of the current Arsenal squad has now been likened to iconic Invincibles striker Nwankwo Kanu.
Leandro Trossard increased in importance to Arsenal as the season wore on.
At the start of the campaign, the Belgian attacker was behind Gabriel Martinelli in the pecking order. However, the Brazilian struggled to produce his best on a regular basis this season, whilst Trossard was regularly able to positively impact matches from the bench.
Trossard established himself as a super sub for Arsenal, and became a more regular starter in the second half of the campaign. His prolific streak of form over the course of the run-in helped Mikel Arteta’s side to maintain their Premier League title charge until the last game of the season.
Leandro Trossard earns comparison with Arsenal icon Nwankwo Kanu
The £27 million former Brighton and Hove Albion man has not always been entirely happy with his role at Arsenal. Trossard has had his disagreements with Arteta in the past, but these issues have clearly been overcome. Trossard is now very settled and enjoying life at the Emirates Stadium.
Journalist James Benge has now heaped praise on the 29-year-old. Speaking to Charles Watts on the Inside Arsenal YouTube channel, the reporter compared Trossard to Nwankwo Kanu.
The reporter said: “He reminds me a little of early years Kanu. Not Invincibles era Kanu, when it was just nice to have him around. He would always end up without about 20 starts where you never quite noticed where they came from, scored big goals against big opponents…He’s got that Kanu-ish quality.”
Nwankwo Kanu’s Arsenal legacy
Kanu was on the books with the North London club between 1999 and 2004. In that time, the Nigeria international played 198 games for the Gunners, across all competitions, scoring 44 goals. He was particularly prolific in the 1999/2000 campaign, when he found the back of the 17 times, with 12 of those strikes coming in the Premier League.
The 47-year-old won two Premier League titles with Arsenal, the second of which came in 2004, when the Gunners went through the entire league campaign without losing a match on their way to being crowned champions and earning the Invincibles moniker.
With the likes of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, and Sylvain Wiltord all at Arsenal at the same time as Kanu, he was never a regular starter for the club on a long-term basis. However, like Trossard, he was often able to contribute when it mattered most and was a vital member of the squad.