Auston Trusty is a name known only to a handful of fans. He is an American international football player, currently plying his trade in the Championship with Birmingham City, on loan from Premier League giants Arsenal.
The 24-year-old defender was signed by the Gunners from MLS club Colorado Rapids in the early days of 2022 but is yet to make a footprint in the big leagues.
Slowly but steadily, Trusty made his name since his debut for Philadelphia Union. In 2021, he was part of the Rapids’ backline which had conceded only 36 goals all season.
Now in the UK, he definitely has turned some heads with an outrageous goal he scored against Queens Park Rangers for Birmingham City.
A neatly taken corner by Manchester United starlet Hannibal broke kindly for the defender, who found the back of the net with an audacious no-look flick using the side of his foot that a certain Swede would be proud of.
The ball looped over a crowded penalty area, beating QPR goalie Seny Dieng, and nestling into the far corner in the 4th minute of the match.
Birmingham City went on to win the match 2-0 against the 2nd-placed QPR but all the talk is about the young Arsenal loanee.
In his post-match interview, he joked that he deliberately tried to get on the scoresheet but later laughed it off.
“Of course, yeah, of course I meant that! I checked my shoulder and saw the…nah, I’m playing!” said Trusty to Sky Sports, “It was a good goal, I took advantage of the goalkeeper being off his line and put it back in play, that’s what you do. It’s kind of lucky but I’ll take it.”
He is well on his way to making a strong case to squeeze into the US national team’s World Cup squad. Clocking in 17 full 90-minute appearances already, his transition from soccer to football couldn’t be any smoother.
Manager John Eustace & teammate George Friend has heaped praises on Trusty, calling him “incredible” which denotes his growing importance in the team.
The individual brilliance has gotten Twitter users excited who are keen to see him add to Arsenal’s improving squad depth.
Auston Trusty would be hoping that his latest antics might help him to secure a seat on the flight to Qatar in November, or at the very least give him the opportunity to be a potential center-back partner to William Saliba next season at the Emirates.