Belgian media have now been sharing their reaction to Leandro Trossard’s performance in the country’s shock defeat to Slovakia at Euro 2024 on Monday.
Trossard started at left wing for Domenico Tedesco and played 74 minutes in Belgium’s disappointing 1-0 loss.
The Arsenal winger is regularly deployed on the right for his country but played in his customary club role on the left this time out – the one he recently earned at Gabriel Martinelli’s expense.
And as Mikel Arteta ponders the addition of another winger this summer, perhaps Spain’s Nico Williams, he’ll certainly be monitoring the performance of his attackers closely.
That being said, and as may be expected on such a frustrating night for Belgium, Trossard’s minutes certainly didn’t impress those back home.
Handed a 1/10 rating by Walfoot, the source declared Trossard’s performance his worst of his 34 appearances in a Belgium shirt.
Belgian media criticise Leandro Trossard’s ‘worst match’ for his country so far at Euro 2024
Adding to their sombre verdict, Walfoot thought that Tedesco should have subbed Trossard a lot earlier.
They wrote: “He chose his moment well to offer his worst match, by far, in the Belgian jersey.
“A disastrous performance during which he literally missed everything, from A to Z.
“Even when placed back on the right in the second half, the Gunner did not get his head out of the water and should have left much earlier.”
Of course, having been returned to right wing in the second half, Trossard did also play 20 or so minutes behind Romelu Lukaku as a number 10.
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Local source 7sur7 weren’t quite as critical of Trossard, handing him a 3/10, but labelled the Arsenal man a ‘symbol of a sluggish collective performance’.
They wrote: “Missing the point, and it’s unfortunately a bad habit in the national team.
“Trossard has (yet) not found his place on the chessboard. The Arsenal player lost numerous avoidable balls during the match and caused almost no danger, apart from a shot on target in the second half.
“The symbol of a sluggish collective performance.”
Mikel Arteta needs to sign better back up for Bukayo Saka
A tough night for Trossard against Slovakia, but not necessarily one that requires a knee-jerk reaction at club or country.
But either way, Arteta should be planning to add a winger this summer in the wake of Reiss Nelson perhaps heading for an Arsenal exit.
Should they raise the necessary funds, Arsenal have a very exciting opportunity to add a player of Nico Williams’ echelon as mentioned.
The Athletic Bilbao winger is already proving his rich ability for La Roja at Euro 2024 right now, and would offer Arteta genuine competition for Bukayo Saka, who can seldom afford a rest.
All that being said, French media have also now been reacting to William Saliba’s performance against Austria on Monday.