Arsenal have moved to end talk of Leandro Trossard leaving for Beşiktaş, with the club refusing to allow a transfer abroad. The reported interest from Türkiye — including a rumoured €22 million (£19.1 million, $25.7 million) offer — has been dismissed internally, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that any move has “no chance of happening now.”

Trossard joined Arsenal from Brighton & Hove Albion in January 2023, a window in which the club were linked with Mykhailo Mudryk before Chelsea completed his signing and Arsenal turned to Trossard. His contract runs until 2027 and the new terms do not include an extension, but the club have nonetheless opted to keep him in north London.

Since his arrival Trossard, 30, has been used intermittently in Mikel Arteta’s starting XI. In the Premier League he has made 93 appearances for the Gunners, scoring 21 goals and supplying 18 assists. He has also featured 23 times in the Champions League, producing nine goal contributions. Those numbers underline the value of a player who offers versatility and the ability to play with both feet.

Trossard does not possess the same straight-line pace as Gabriel Martinelli, and he has not established himself as an automatic starter while competing for minutes with Martinelli. The addition of Eberechi Eze has increased competition for attacking places, leaving Trossard to contest for opportunities within the squad.

Arsenal’s decision to turn down interest from Türkiye suggests the club believe Trossard remains a useful option, whether as a starter or a rotation figure. Beşiktaş had also been linked with Manchester United wantaway winger Jadon Sancho, though the Englishman chose a loan move to Aston Villa instead.

Arsenal head into the new term missing one of their most influential players after Bukayo Saka picked up a hamstring problem in the second match of the Premier League season.

The injury occurred during Arsenal’s 5–0 win over Leeds United and manager Mikel Arteta has warned the winger faces several weeks on the sidelines. The Gunners struggled for cutting edge without Saka and drew a blank in their recent defeat to title rivals Liverpool at Anfield.

On Saka’s condition Arteta said: “Bukayo is doing better, but he will be out for a few weeks, unfortunately.

“No surgery, it’s not as bad as the previous one. Very unfortunate to pick it up because it’s on the other side. It’s an action that requires full power from him. Then, he clashed with the opponent; he needed to change pace again, and he felt something. So he will be out for a couple of weeks.”

Saka’s latest setback follows a run of hamstring problems last season. He first suffered an issue in October 2024 while on international duty with England and missed two weeks. A more serious hamstring tear in December required surgery after an injury sustained against Crystal Palace just before Christmas. He did not return to the first team until the beginning of April.

Arteta confirmed surgery is not required this time, but the loss still deprives Arsenal of Saka’s regular creativity and goalscoring threat. The club’s summer signing Noni Madueke, who arrived from Chelsea, has already started on the right wing at Anfield and was described as Arteta’s most lively creative force in that match. Madueke also started the game against Leeds, largely on the opposite flank, and appears to have earned Arteta’s trust.

Other internal options remain. Ethan Nwaneri often covered for Saka last season and Leandro Trossard has the versatility to fill the role in the short term while the England international recovers.

Sporting president Frederico Varandas offered a measured response to Viktor Gyökeres’s departure to Arsenal while making clear he still holds the striker in high regard. The transfer process proved protracted, with Sporting insisting on maximum value. Representatives for Gyökeres waived their fees during negotiations and an agreement worth a total of £63.5 million ($85.3 million) was reached.

On his relationship with the player and those who negotiated the deal, Varandas said: “I sent a message congratulating Gyökeres [on the move],” and added: “He will always be a legend at this club, and as president of Sporting, I will always defend that legend. He was one of the best professionals I had here until the end of the season.”

The president did not spare a pointed aside about the agents involved. “I have fond memories of his agents. I think they’re very good, because I made €90 million and paid no commission. They’re excellent agents. I have the best memories… zero commission.” That line underlined Sporting’s negotiating stance as Arsenal pressed to complete the signing.

Gyökeres has started his Arsenal career with two goals in his first three appearances, both coming in a 5–0 victory over newly promoted Leeds United. His outings against Manchester United and Liverpool produced no goals, prompting some scrutiny of his early form at his new club.

Now on international duty with Sweden, Gyökeres will aim to regain momentum in Friday’s World Cup qualifier against Slovenia, a match that will feature a meeting with new Manchester United signing Benjamin Šeško. Previewing the clash, Šeško said: “[Sweden] have top players, we are all aware of that. But we are also aware of our quality. We are definitely facing a top-level match. Everything will depend on us.”