The father of one Arsenal player has now made a remarkable criticism of the national team manager amidst his son’s Euro 2024 woes.
Football players’ families rarely speak out publicly, and it often isn’t the wisest idea for them to do so.
The father of goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale spoke out last season after his son lost his place in the regular Arsenal starting XI. His comments did nothing to bring Ramsdale back into Mikel Arteta’s plans though.
Players need support from their families behind the scenes, but vocalising concerns publicly can often lead to making matters worse.
With that in mind, Leandro Trossard will now be hoping that his father’s latest statement doesn’t create issues for him within the Belgium national team setup.
Father of Arsenal star Leandro Trossard takes aim at Belgium boss
Trossard has endured a difficult start to his Euro 2024 campaign.
Domenico Tedesco named the Arsenal winger in his starting XI for Belgium’s first game of the tournament. They were beaten in that fixture by Slovakia. Trossard was awarded a 1/10 rating by one Belgian media outlet for his display in that match.
Up against Romania in their second game, the 29-year-old had to satisfy himself with a place on the bench, before joining the fray in the second half. Although Trossard has always been something of a super sub for Arteta, he was again unable to have a positive impact for his country on this occasion.
Trossard’s father has since made his feelings shockingly clear on the situation. As quoted by Voetbal Primeur, he said: “I don’t think Tedesco is a good trainer for Belgium. Although he doesn’t have the stubbornness of Roberto Martínez.
“Leandro gets criticized, but he was moved from one position to another. That way you don’t get a line in your game.”
It is hard to imagine that these words will endear the younger Trossard to Tedesco any further, and could possibly result in his game time diminishing further.
Arsenal will have wanted Trossard to impress at the Euros, in order to drive up his transfer value and reputation. Unless something changes dramatically, though, it will be a competition to forget for the former Brighton & Hove Albion man.
Arsenal winners and losers at Euro 2024
Meanwhile, Trossard’s Arsenal teammates Kai Havertz and William Saliba have fared far better in Germany.
Salliba has established himself as a starter for France, whilst Havertz has drawn praise from Arsenal fans for his efforts in leading the line for the host nation.
In this week’s episode, Will Jones and Rahul Lakhani discussed the first few days of the European Championships. With Arsenal players such as Kai Havertz and Kieran Tierney experiencing mixed starts to the tournament, the pair assessed which Gunners were the winners and losers from the group stages so far.
There was some talk about transfers based off the Euros, with Arsenal-linked Amadou Onana’s display for Belgium discussed, whilst Leandro Trossard’s poor performance was analysed, and Bukayo Saka’s sensational England showing lauded.