Aliadière: Trossard is underappreciated and Rice is among the world’s best midfielders

Arsenal’s summer transfer window, driven by sporting director Andrea Berta, was one of the busiest the club has seen in years. Yet while high-profile signings often dominate the headlines, the backbone of any title-winning team can also be found in players who quietly elevate the squad. As the Gunners continue through a demanding December period, we caught up with former Arsenal striker Jérémie Aliadière to gauge his thoughts on the squad’s balance, depth, and standout contributors.

Is Trossard underappreciated?

Back in the summer, Leandro Trossard’s future at Arsenal felt uncertain. Several European clubs were circling, and although the Belgian had chipped in with goals since arriving from Brighton in January 2023 for an initial £20 million, many supporters and pundits still viewed him as a rotational option who is valuable, but expendable.

Fast forward to the present, and Trossard has become a vital figure in Arsenal’s push across multiple competitions. Aliadière believes the forward remains one of the most undervalued players in the squad and insists he should be one of the first names on the teamsheet.

“I think Trossard is massively underrated. Since he joined the club he has been working hard and scoring goals from the bench. He has scored important goals that have changed the games, and people have criticised him a bit. At some point he may have had a dip, and I even heard he was close to moving away from the club in the last transfer window. But he stayed and kept working hard. He is never making any noise, he is just doing all the basic stuff.”

“Now, you can't take him out of the team. How would you be able to take him out of the team? He is doing so well. He is scoring very important goals. Every time we feel that it isn't going our way, Trossard will make a fantastic goal.”

That point was reinforced at the weekend. Coming off the bench against Aston Villa, Trossard scored almost immediately to level the match before unfortunately being forced off with injury.

“This guy is massively important to us. Hugely important and we always talk about Saka, Eze and those players, but no one really mentions Trossard until now really, because he has been performing so well the whole season.”

“I definitely feel like he deserves more credit. He deserves more praise for the hard work he does for Arsenal.”

Rice is among the world’s best midfielders

While Trossard fights for recognition, one player who absolutely isn’t short of praise is Declan Rice. The England midfielder has become the heartbeat of Arteta’s side, combining power, intensity and tactical intelligence with a growing threat from set pieces.

As we look ahead to the weekend, the Englishman is priced at 21/20 to score or assist for Arteta’s side in their home clash with bottom-of-the-table Wolves. If you fancy backing those odds, you can use our free bet calculator to work out how much you could stand to win.

Aliadière, meanwhile, believes there are very few midfielders in world football operating at Rice’s level.

“I think Declan Rice is amazing and I can’t think of many other midfield players who do what he does. He’s a box to box midfielder so he does defend but he also attacks and makes late runs into the box.”

“He scores goals and his set piece delivery is superb. It’s just perfection. The corners and free kicks are always at the perfect time. The way he whips the ball is just insane. Rice is up there with the best midfielders in the world.”

Saka’s influence runs deeper than goals and assists

Bukayo Saka remains one of Arsenal’s most important players, but his goal contributions have slowed slightly this season, prompting debate on social media about his overall impact. Aliadière, however, argues that the winger’s gravity - the defensive attention he demands - directly enhances the performances of team-mates such as Trossard and Eberechi Eze.

“I think there is less pressure on Saka now. I think a lot of the success of the other players is also due to how much attention he is drawing from his opponents. Everyone knows what Saka is capable of doing, so they are doubling up on him.”

“They are all focussing on stopping Saka, but while doing that you open up somewhere else and this is why we see players like Trossard or Eze performing so well.”

“I can't really say it's just negative that Saka hasn't scored that much because Arsenal is a team and the attention he gets makes space for others. This is not about the records he can break, because at the end of the day, if Arsenal win the Premier League, no one will care how many goals he scored compared to Eze, Trossard or the other players.”

“To win trophies is the main target this season for Arsenal, not the individual stats.”

Read more as Jeremie Aliadière issues a warning over Arsenal's Premier League title hopes