“He was so intelligent in the first half of the game, i don’t know what went wrong with him in the second half”- Pundit admitted he was very impressed by 28 years old Arsenal star during the first half but he doesn’t understand why Arteta subbed him off

TNT pundit so impressed by ‘intelligent’ 28-year-old Arsenal star during first-half vs Lens

Lucy Ward has lauded the intelligence of Leandro Trossard after a brilliant bit of movement saw the Arsenal star briefly go through on goal during the first-half of their Champions League tie with Lens.

Ward was speaking on TNT Sports (broadcast on 3/10; 20:36) as the Belgian nearly found himself with the opportunity to put the Gunners back in front in France.

Leandro Trossard handed Arsenal a big boost ahead of this weekend’s clash with Manchester City. The January signing was an unused substitute at Bournemouth at the weekend after missing out on the North London derby due to a knock.

He was promoted to the starting lineup against Lens. And he will perhaps be a little frustrated that he did not test the goalkeeper 10 minutes before the break.

Leandro Trossard lauded after intelligent run in Arsenal tie

Trossard was played in by a delicious through ball from Oleksandr Zinchenko. But as he shaped to shoot, he was denied by an excellent sliding challenge by the defender.

Nevertheless, Lucy Ward was so impressed by the way the 28-year-old created the opening for himself with a superb piece of movement on the left wing that led to him losing his marker.

“Trossard’s so intelligent,” she told TNT Sports. “He just shapes to receive short and then goes long and receives the pass. The pass still has to be good. They haven’t really got him in those sorts of positions enough yet.”

Another inspired signing for the Gunners

Trossard has been an absolutely inspired signing for the Gunners. Of course, it was clear just how much quality he possessed while he was playing at Brighton. 

But it did not appear to immediately capture the imagination of supporters when Arsenal made their move in January. However, he proved to be a revelation for Mikel Arteta’s side. 

Trossard has been directly involved in 15 goals in 28 games for Arsenal. That is an outstanding return when you consider that he has not always started games. 

He certainly looks set to have an important role this weekend, with Gabriel Martinelli missing out on Tuesday and Bukayo Saka coming off with an injury.