The Arsenal player, who has performed at a very high level in the Premier League this season, completely missed his match against Slovakia. And, with the Devils, it’s far from the first time.
Luc Nilis and Mousa Dembélé were two players who, throughout their careers, impressed with their respective clubs, without ever, or almost, doing so for the national team. Is Leandro Trossard, despite himself, writing his name next to these two?
Leandro Trossard, paradoxical player
This season, with Arsenal, the 29-year-old left winger has been excellent, as often, in the Premier League. Seventeen goals and two assists, in all competitions, for a player who only had 48% playing time in the league, and 57% in the Champions League.
Statistically, Trossard has just had the best season of his career. In the Premier League, at least. In the content, too. If Arsenal fought for the title with Manchester City until the very end of the championship, it was also thanks to the one who scored the one and only goal of the match twice (against Everton and Manchester United) and who was decisive in the victories against Liverpool, Burnley and in the draw against Chelsea, during which he scored the equalizer in the 85th minute. But then, what’s wrong with the Devils?
Last night, by all accounts, Leandro Trossard was the worst Belgian player on the pitch. Strange, for someone who arrived with full confidence, having scored five goals in the last eight English championship matches.
With the Devils, Leandro Trossard never really convinced
Launched for the first time by Roberto Martinez, in March 2020, during a Nations League match against Denmark, during which he played the last ten minutes, Leandro Trossard has practically no reference performance with the Devils. His most successful period, with the national team, was around the middle of the 2022 calendar year.
In March, Trossard scored a goal and delivered two assists during a friendly match against Burkina Faso, won 3-0. Three months later, he scored twice in a big victory against Poland in the Nations League, including an absolutely sublime send-off. The rest is thin, very thin.
A double, certainly, during a victory… 8-0 against Belarus, an assist during a 2-5 victory in Estonia, another during the friendly in Germany in March 2023, during which his rise in the game, 32 minutes from time, had been generally good, and other goals scored against Estonia again, Azerbaijan, Montenegro and Luxembourg, most recently. A goal, in each of these matches.
Overall, it’s meager. Very thin for a player who has reached such stature across the Channel, counting 170 Premier League matches and 37 European Cup matches (9 in the Champions League, 19 in the Europa League final phase, 9 in the preliminary round of Europa League).
How many cartridges does he have left?
The precise explanation, quite honestly, we don’t really have it. But the paradox is clear, and brings to mind some of these players who, in the national team, never had the contribution that they had in club. Leandro Trossard is far, far, far from being a bad football player. Quite the contrary, in fact. But with Belgium, obviously, things are not going well.
Should we still give him a chance? Yes, of course, because Trossard is the kind of player capable of turning a match around when it is not going the right way. But perhaps Tedesco will let Jérémy Doku (or Yannick Carrasco) occupy the left flank for the rest of the tournament, while Trossard could find himself on the right side… or in a “super-sub” role , coming off the bench.
One thing is certain: to remove this image of a very good player at club, but disappointing in the national team, Trossard will have to react quickly. On the bench, there is no shortage of solutions, and at the end of the year, Trossard will already celebrate its 30th anniversary. Age of maturity in football and golden age for many players. Will he be one of those who improve like good wine, or who will never have the hoped-for career in the national team? The near future should provide us with a first element of answer.
