Leandro Trossard will soon enter the final year of his contract at Arsenal, putting Andrea Berta under pressure to make a decision on his future.
Leandro Trossard has reminded Mikel Arteta what Arsenal could miss out on next season. The 31-year-old winger, who faces an uncertain future at the Emirates Stadium, fired Belgium to a resounding victory 5-1 over New Zealand at BC Place on Friday night, sealing a place in the knockout stages of the World Cup.
Almost as if it were straight off the training ground in north London, Trossard broke the deadlock inside the opening half hour, smashing the ball past Max Crocombe from close range after a well-worked corner. Then, shortly after the break, he doubled the Red Devils’ lead.
Putting on a clinic for movement inside the box, Trossard peeled off Joe Bell into the space between the right-back and the centre-half, received the ball on the half-turn and skipped past Finn Surman to cut inside before taking aim. His shot was blocked, but he took a second bite of the cherry.
Trossard reacted quickest to the rebound, smashing a snapshot volley into the nearside top corner. He then teed up Kevin De Bruyne, who etched his name onto the scoresheet midway through the second half, becoming the first Belgian player to score in three different editions of the World Cup.
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Elijah Just eventually pulled one back, but Romelu Lukaku restored his side’s three-goal lead a few moments later. In the dying embers of stoppage time, Alexis Saelemaekers, who replaced Trossard earlier in the match, put the fifth and final nail in the New Zealand coffin.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Rudi Garcia showered the Arsenal winger, as well as his teammates, with praise. As quoted by Reuters, the Belgium head coach said: “This is what the oldies did tonight, quote unquote.
“Now, we haven’t won anything yet, but we moved on to the next phase, but thank goodness we had a difference of four goals and that gave us the opportunity to be first of the group.
“We can’t say that we are fully into it, but we are growing into it. We’re gaining momentum. We’ll see against whom we will be playing in the round of 32, but we will relish this first victory.”
Whether the ‘oldies’ tag had motivated his side, Garcia said: “No, I did not read it, but this is what I’ve heard from France, from Belgium, and this is not a source of motivation, honestly.
“I trust my players, and that’s why my team is the way it is right now. I fully trust my leaders, and there’s only one thing that we can do. It’s actually happening on the pitch, and so the answer happened on the pitch, and I have nothing else to say.”
Trossard, who only has a year left on his contract with Arsenal, certainly made a good impression, and he’ll be hoping it could earn him an extension – or a bumper offer from elsewhere. From January, foreign clubs will be eligible to open pre-contract talks with the Belgian over a free transfer in the summer of 2027.
If he doesn’t pen an extension before the end of the year, the Gunners will be forced to make a difficult call. Arsenal will have to decide whether they’d rather risk losing Trossard for free or cut their losses and cash in, either now or in the next transfer window…
