Leandro Trossard's miserable stats speak volumes after 'agreeing' Arsenal transfer
Arsenal winger Leandro Trossard failed to leave an impression as Belgium were beaten 2-1 by Spain in the World Cup quarter-final on Friday.
Fellow Gunner Mikel Merino scored the winner for the European champions, after goals from Fabian Ruiz and Charles De Ketelaere had them level.
Spain will meet France on Tuesday for the semi-final, with a chance to play Argentina, Switzerland, England or Norway in the World Cup final.
Trossard enjoyed a fantastic tournament, scoring two goals and providing two assists for Belgium, but he was missing at the crucial moment.
The winger now appears set to leave Arsenal in the coming days after a deal worth around £17million was agreed with Besiktas last week.
Trossard, 31, had just one year remaining on his contract at the Emirates Stadium and will likely call time on his Arsenal career after finally lifting the Premier League trophy.
Leandro Trossard criticised by Belgian media
Against Iran, New Zealand, Senegal and the United States, Trossard had been in superb form.
The winger was having a brilliant tournament, and had very much taken on the role of Belgium's main man.
Against Spain, however, the 31-year-old was shut down by Marc Cucurella and the double-team that the European champions deployed.
Trossard would fail to create a chance or take on a shot, being dispossessed four times and winning just one of six duels before he was taken off on the hour mark.
With the number 10 on his back, the winger has drawn some comparisons to Eden Hazard, who was capped 126 times by Belgium.
His generation got slightly further at the 2018 World Cup, where they knocked out at the semi-final stage by France before Hazard scored in the play-off for third place.
"He chose a very bad moment to play his first truly poor match of the tournament," Belgian outlet Votetbalkrant wrote of Trossard's display on Friday.
"Perhaps that is the real difference between the previous number 10 and him".
Trossard was 'disappointed' by substitution
As Arsenal have learned on several occasions, Trossard is a good man to have on the pitch in big moments.
The winger has a knack for scoring crucial goals, including the one against West Ham in May that likely saw Arsenal over the line to win the Premier League.
In that respect, Garcia's decision to substitute him on the hour mark was a questionable one, even if his impact had been limited.
"He struggled to make an impact in attack. And you can't really fault him for that in this match. Defensively, he was solid. He was disappointed by his substitution by Rudi Garcia at the hour mark," wrote Belgian outlet 7sur7.