A number of Arsenal players currently on international duty had a difficult start to the March break as the first matches were played on Thursday.
Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori picked up an injury in Italy’s UEFA Nations League loss to Germany, while William Saliba struggled in France’s defeat to Croatia.
Leandro Trossard’s Belgium also had a bad night on Thursday as they lost 3-1 to Ukraine in their Group A/B playoff first leg, despite leading 1-0 at the break.
The Belgian media wasn’t particularly impressed with the Gunners man’s performance in the Spanish city of Murcia, criticising him in their post-match ratings pieces.
Arsenal star Leandro Trossard slated for ‘lousy pass’ in Belgium loss to Ukraine
While Belgium were poor as a collective, Trossard was criticised because of a poor pass to a teammate which culminated in Ukraine’s equaliser.
In the 65th minute, Trossard tried to find Koni de Winter with a risky crossfield pass, and the latter was dispossessed by Oleksiy Hutsulyak, who went on to score an easy goal.
Ukraine, who had been trailing to Romelu Lukaku’s 40th-minute opener, then kicked on and added two more goals, courtesy of Vladyslav Vanat and Illia Zabarnyi.
Walfoot gave Trossard a 5 out of 10 for his efforts and wrote: “Theoretically aligned on the left, but in reality often in a free role, he worked in vain without creating any real danger.
“Too few successful combinations with Lukaku, and too little inspiration. And above all: what a lousy pass to Koni De Winter, which brought the Red Devils’ game to a standstill.”
Likewise, Voetbalprimeur gave the Arsenal man a 5 out of 10 as they wrote: “Searched for solutions on the left flank and took initiative, but disappeared from the game after the break.
“His wrong pass to De Winter heralded the Ukrainian equalizer, which made his poor second half even more important.”
RTBF had some kinder words for Trossard, but they also went with a rating of 5 out of 10 due to his costly erroneous pass.
“Starting on the left wing, the Arsenal player was one of the most determined players,” they wrote.
“Highly mobile on the pitch, he moved almost everywhere, and he spared no effort. He notably created Belgium’s first big chance by winning the ball high enough to try, but in vain.
“Much less visible in the second half, he was guilty of a dangerous pass to De Winter that led to Ukraine’s equalizer.”
How Leandro Trossard fared against Ukraine
Leandro Trossard delivered a mixed performance against Ukraine, clocking up some good stats but also some bad ones.
His risky crossfield pass which led to Ukraine’s equaliser is obviously the main talking point with regards to his performance, as it was so damaging for Belgium.
However, Trossard also did well in other ways, winning five ground duels, completing two dribbles and making two key passes.
| Leandro Trossard stats v Ukraine | |
| Touches | 46 |
| Accurate passes | 24/32 (75%) |
| Key passes | 2 |
| Long balls (acc.) | 6 (4) |
| Shots off target | 1 |
| Dribble attempts (succ.) | 3 (2) |
| Ground duels (won) | 9 (5) |
| Possession lost | 11 |
| Dribbled past | 1 |
Trossard will be eager to make amends and will get the chance to do so on Sunday when Belgium host Ukraine in their second leg.
Arsenal then return to action on 1 April when they host Fulham in their Premier League fixture at the Emirates Stadium.
