Report: Arsenal signed 23-year-old in January but he may actually never play for them

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Arsenal might have got deals for MLS duo Auston Trusty and Matt Turner over the line before the transfer window slammed shut, but it was hardly the most inspiring double signing for Gunners fans.

The Gunners landed the pair for next to nothing. Turner will come into the team to challenge Aaron Ramsdale eventually, with Bernd Leno being tipped for a summer exit. On the surface, that signing might work out well, given Turner has looked assured enough to support Ramsdale.

However, the addition of Auston Trusty is a more interesting one. The 23-year-old defender will come to London in the summer from Colorado Rapids. The Athletic reports that Trusty’s signing was always a planned event, and he was essentially one of a number of players Arsenal could have signed from the MLS side.

And even more interestingly, it’s claimed in The Athletic that Trusty might never actually don the famous red shirt.

It’s claimed a 22/23 loan is already on the agenda for Trusty. If that is a full season, that would mean he’d have been an Arsenal player 18 months by the time he’s been considered. The Athletic question whether he might ever actually end up anywhere near the Arsenal first XI.

TBR’s View: Modern Football Signing For Arsenal

It’s touched upon in the article but the Kroenke’s own both Arsenal and the Rapids, and this is simply a way for them to incorporate more connections between the pair.

For fans of the MLS club, it puts Arsenal on their radar. With that will come more interest, potentially more money, and long-term followers from afar. Really, it’s a smart enough strategy from the Gunners ownership, in pure business terms.

In terms of the player, Trusty will just have to work hard. It’s still a huge opportunity and if he does well, then Mikel Arteta might well end up using him anyway. At 23, he’s definitely young enough to improve and, eventually, make an impact.