Arsenal No.19 Leandro Trossard was in action on Friday as Belgium faced Finland in their first UEFA EURO 2024 qualifier.
The 28-year-old went into the international break full of confidence, after providing four assists in his last two Premier League outings for Arsenal as the Gunners went eight points clear of Manchester City at the top.
However – despite his form for the north Londoners – Trossard endured a tough night against Finland.
What’s the story?
Well, Belgium still managed to defeat Finland by a 3-0 scoreline thanks to Romelu Lukaku’s hat-trick, but they had to do so without Trossard playing much of a part.
As WhoScored shows, the £27m man only completed 13 passes in his 60 minutes on the pitch before he was replaced by Orel Mangala.
Trossard also failed to have a single shot on target – nor did he complete a successful dribble – which is unlike him, to say the least.
Despite his recent gluttony of assists for Arsenal, there were also no key passes on show from the Belgian either.
As a result of his poor performance, Belgian news outlet Het Laatste Nieuws described him as “invisible” against Finland.
Voetbal Nieuws also shared their thoughts on Trossard’s display, describing him as “flop of the match” on what they state was a “difficult” evening for the attacker.
Arsenal will hope Belgium display doesn’t affect Trossard
Mikel Arteta will surely be hoping that the barrage of criticism coming Trossard’s way doesn’t affect his confidence during the Premier League title race.
The January signing from Brighton has been instrumental for the Gunners in recent weeks, with his displays in a false nine role helping Arsenal record six Premier League wins in a row.
Trossard’s creativity has also allowed the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka to thrive.
Hopefully, Arsenal’s No.19 will not let his quiet display against Finland have a negative impact on his performances back in north London.
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