Arsenal winger Leandro Trossard had a quiet evening during Belgium’s 6-0 World Cup qualifier win over Kazakhstan on Sunday.
The 30-year-old was linked with a move away from the Gunners earlier this summer, but he eventually signed a new deal with a pay rise.
Besiktas recently made an ambitious proposal for the winger, but Arsenal have reiterated that Trossard won’t be sold at this point.
The Gunners obviously value the versatile forward, but his present run of form should be a cause of concern for them and manager Mikel Arteta.
Trossard played 63 minutes for Belgium in the 6-0 rout of Kazakhstan. He started as a left winger, but also featured on the opposite flank.
He provided two key passes but was largely ineffective otherwise. He won just three out of seven duels contested with no successful take-ons (0/2).
Trossard lost possession on seven occasions.
His performance was criticised by the Belgian media after the game.
Walfoot handed him a rating of just 4.5, criticising his ‘sluggish’ display in the commanding win.
Sudinfo said that Trossard was the ‘least visible’ on the night, while DH Net questioned why the winger got the nod when he isn’t impressive as a starter.
Trossard received a 5/10 rating from 7sur7. They called him the ‘disappointment of the evening’.
The former Brighton & Hove Albion man has been a good contributor for the Gunners with 51 goal involvements from 125 games in all competitions.
He has developed his reputation as a super sub. Trossard has undoubtedly been more effective off the bench for Arsenal than from the starting line-up.
He has not had the best start to the campaign. After being an unused substitute for the last two games at Arsenal, Trossard has barely impressed for Belgium.
With Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli all competing for places on the left wing, the £27 million signing faces a tough challenge going forward.
With Mikel Merino’s success as a number nine, the Spaniard is more likely to deputise for Viktor Gyokeres upfront in the coming months than the Belgian.
Stats from Sofascore.com