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Arsenal have rejected a deadline day bid from Al Ittihad for star forward Leandro Trossard, talk SPORT understands. The Saudi Arabia side are looking to bolster their attack and have made a late swoop for the Belgian forward before their window slams shut later on Monday. But the Gunners have immediately knocked back their initial loan offer, which would have turned into an obligation to sign him in a £25million package. It is believed that Al Ittihad had offered Trossard a four-year contract worth close to £12. 6m-a-year, which would be almost treble the £4. 6m yearly salary he is currently on. Arsenal have no plans to part ways with the player, who they never felt wanted to embark on a new adventure in the Middle East. Trossard, who still has two years left to run on his contract at the Emirates, has established himself as a key player since joining from Brighton in January 2023. In 71 games in all competitions for the Gunners, he has chipped in with 19 goals and 12 assists. But he has never been a nailed-on starter, with boss Mikel Arteta rotating him on the left wing with Gabriel Martinelli. Entering his third season in north London, Trossard has been restricted to just 29 Premier League starts. And his frustration of his lack of minutes was evident when he came off the bench against Aston Villa last month to fire his side into the lead in an eventual 2-0 away win. Just moments after coming on, he fired low past Emiliani Martinez where he refused to celebrate, with fans quickly pointing out it was a message to Arteta. His reaction came having started the opening two top-flight games of the new campaign from the dugout. Arteta himself admitted that the player is 'upset' over his lack of starts, as he said: "When you don’t get picked there are certain ways to react. "For Leo, he is upset, he is upset to show on the pitch how good he is. Not upset because he is not playing. "And that is a huge quality. When you put him in the starting XI he does the exact same thing and that is a big example for the rest of the team. " With the player already battling Martinelli for a starting spot, he now is in competition with Raheem Sterling following the Chelsea man's arrival on loan. If Arsenal had sanctioned Trossard's departure, it would have left them incredibly light up top. Trossard's versatility has seen him play across all three positions under Arteta. And with Arsenal allowing striker Eddie Nketiah to join Crystal Palace and winger Reiss Nelson leaving for Fulham on loan, Arsenal knew they could not afford to lose any more forwards. The Gunners are looking to compete on all four fronts both domestically and in Europe this term, with more games to be played in the Champions League. Arteta knows he must have a squad strong enough to cope with the demands, and losing Trossard would severely dampen their chances of winning a first league title since 2004. While they would have to wait until the window re-opens in January in order to replace him, by which time they could be out of the title race and the Carabao Cup. It was Trossard's goals in the second half of the 2023/24 campaign that kept Arsenal in the race, with five of his 17 strikes last term coming in the last eight league matches. Trossard started in Saturday's 1-1 draw against Brighton, but was sacrificed following Declan Rice's red card, which saw Arsenal drop two points. Have your say on all things talk SPORT by joining ‘The DUGOUT’ – our new listener panel. We're all about diving deep into your perspectives, and making sure talk SPORT is the absolute best it can be. Your voice matters, and we want to hear it! Pitch your game-changing ideas, and join in with fun surveys, polls, and locker-room discussions. Just by joining, you'll enter a prize draw to win one of four £50 Amazon vouchers, with another prize draw entry for every survey you complete after that To join the ‘The DUGOUT’ panel, please click here. This service is provided on talk SPORT Ltd's Terms of Use in accordance with our Privacy Policy.