{"id":1062562,"date":"2026-07-01T20:53:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T20:53:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1062562\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T20:53:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T20:53:14","slug":"26-y-o-leaves-leeds-and-may-seal-pl-rival-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1062562\/","title":{"rendered":"26-y\/o leaves Leeds and may seal PL rival move"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leeds United<\/a> have bid farewell to two long-standing servants so far this summer.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Both Pascal Struijk<\/a> and Illan Meslier<\/a> have left the club, with both featuring heavily across our two Championship title-winning campaigns. <\/p>\n

Struijk has completed a move to Brighton for a reported \u00a320million<\/a>. The Dutch defender is now looking set to play European football next season.<\/p>\n

Meslier, on the other hand, left the club as a free agent after rarely featuring last season. However, the recent rumours regarding the French goalkeeper will certainly leave Leeds fans stunned.<\/p>\n

Illan Meslier linked with sensational Arsenal move <\/p>\n

Meslier, 26, did not play a single second of senior football last season for us. And as brutal as it seems, this decision was absolutely justified by Daniel Farke<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For the last three seasons he has played, Meslier has been nothing short of an absolute calamity between the sticks. <\/p>\n

Time and again, he has cost United valuable points, and in all honesty, Farke should\u2019ve dropped him a lot sooner than when he actually did in both Championship campaigns. <\/p>\n

The fact that Meslier left the Whites as a free agent also shows just how far his stock has fallen in the eyes of the hierarchy, with this being unimaginable at one stage.<\/p>\n

But now, something even more unimaginable has happened regarding Meslier. Sky Sports transfer reporter Luca Bendoni<\/a> recently posted on social media that Arsenal are reportedly keeping tabs on Meslier this summer.<\/p>\n

Arsenal would reportedly be interested in the Frenchman as a backup if Kepa Arrizabalaga were to leave the club this summer.<\/p>\n

Genuinely lost for words that Arsenal are reportedly interested in Illan Meslier<\/p>\n

I know Arsenal would not have to fork out a fee for Meslier this summer, and at one stage, he was regarded as one of the best young shot stoppers around.<\/p>\n

But that feels like an age ago now. The brutal reality is, he\u2019s not a Premier League standard goalkeeper.<\/p>\n

On top of that, he\u2019s certainly not good enough to play for Arsenal. Even if he does arrive purely as a backup.<\/p>\n

Imagine David Raya gets injured next season and Arsenal have to play Meslier in a title race. It just seems mental, and surely Arsenal have more sense than this.<\/p>\n

Also, for Meslier, if he is serious about getting his career back on track, he needs to move somewhere where he will be the undisputed first-choice goalie. This will never happen for him at Arsenal in a million years.<\/p>\n

But if he just wants to remain a backup for the remainder of his career and collect a cheque, fair play to him.<\/p>\n

For a time, he was a solid servant to Leeds. So I do hope he can rekindle some form.<\/p>\n

However, I\u2019d be lying if I said he didn\u2019t leave me with my head in my hands, thinking \u2018how has he let that in\u2019 on far too many occasions. <\/p>\n

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