There were boos for the 29-year-old when he entered the fray as a 64th-minute substitute for Gabriel Jesus. While some players choose not to celebrate out of respect for their former employers, there was no danger when Trossard raced through to score Arsenal’s third late on.
Sharing a photo of his celebrations on Instagram, Trossard accompanied it with the simple caption “Are you not entertained?”. This didn’t go down too well with some Seagulls fans, who quickly made their feelings felt.
“Sorry about the boos Leo, but this one hurts,” one fan wrote.
“We still love him, we just hate the way he left, forced his way out, not all of us,” wrote another.
There was a mixed response elsewhere on social media. “Why is Trossard celebrating against his old club? No respect” was one verdict, but another argued: “They don’t respect him so why should he respect them?”
Arsenal were already two goals to the good when Trossard came on, with Bukayo Saka converting a first-half penalty and Kai Havertz tapping in a second. Trossard’s goal was a solo effort, aided by a deft assist from Havertz which still left him with plenty to do, and ensured Mikel Arteta’s team ended the day top of the table.
“We played a good first half and played well in the second half until the second goal,” Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi said after watching his team drop to 10th with their defeat.
“After that we played not so good and deserved to lose against one of the best Premier League sides. With our injured players we can’t compete against Arsenal.
“We are sorry and disappointed for our fans. We wanted to get points, to win the game and compete in better ways. We are spending a tough moment because we are playing without a lot of injured players. It is tough.
“We are doing better last season because then we played only one game a week. The next season I think we can reach the same level. We have a lot of young players showing promise. We have to be positive and work, keep the focus on the pitch. I am suffering because it is tough to lose.”
