Leandro Trossard is now ‘among the best in Europe’ but the Arsenal star’s former coach still feels he is not being utilised most effectively by Mikel Arteta at the Premier League giants.
Of course, Arteta is not exactly short of evidence when attempting to disprove Jacky Mathijssen’s theory.
Speaking to Het Belang van Limburg, the man who coached Leandro Trossard during a loan spell at OH Leuven in 2015/16 believes that the versatile forward is at his best when lining up on the left-wing.
Trossard has been fielded with considerable success through the middle at Arsenal recently, however, a devastating performance during the 3-1 win over Burnley last week testament to his remarkable flexibility as well as Arteta’s ability to coax outstanding performances out of his £20 million signing no matter where he is deployed in the Gunners frontline.
Mathijssen, though, remains convinced that Trossard is capable of even better in a wider role.
Arsenal star ‘among Europe’s best’
“If you look purely at his footballing qualities, there is no doubt that that (on the left wing) is where he performs best,” Mathijssen argues. “There he can get onto the ball and break away from marker for a while.”
“Then, he can operate between the lines and play through balls, deliver crosses or shoot dangerously on goal. (Trossard is) among the best in Europe.”
The former Brighton forward, who joined Arsenal in January after the Gunners lost out to Chelsea for Mykhaylo Mudryk, has scored or assisted eight goals from 14 appearances this season.
But the biggest difference between the Trossard of today and the one who represented Leuven eight years back, Matthijssen adds, concerns his physicality.
Six goals already for Leandro Trossard
“Today’s Leandro weighs ten kilos more than the one of ten years ago,” adds the 60-year-old, who coached Belgium’s U21 side until recently.
“He can perform much better in duels.”
Trossard started for Belgium during Sunday’s 5-0 hammering of Azerbaijan in a Euro 2024 qualifier. The forward found the net too, even if he was overshadowed by a remarkable four-goal blitz from Rote Duivels team-mate Romelu Lukaku.
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