Leo on positions, Saka, and handling pressure

Leandro Trossard recently spoke to Adrian Clarke on a Breakdown Special all about his Arsenal career so far.

Leandro was initially asked about what position he feels most comfortable playing in on the pitch.

“That’s a tough question,” he said. “I don’t really mind playing all of those positions up top, to be fair. If it’s left winger, as a false nine, even as an attacking midfielder, I don’t really have a straight answer for that.

“[As a kid I played] as a number ten, like a proper attacking midfielder back in the old days, or as a striker as well.

“I always try to be in the box and in good positions to score goals and with the quality that we have, I know I have to be there, especially if I play on the left wing, I need to be there when, for example, Bukayo Saka is on the ball on the right side, so yeah I follow my instinct there, to be honest, to get in the right positions to score goals.”

Speaking of Bukayo, it’s a well-known fact that all of Leandro’s Arsenal goals have been assisted by our number seven.

“I heard this a lot,” he said. “Yeah, I don’t know why, but obviously Bukayo has so much quality to find another player, and I know when he is on the ball that something can happen.”

Capable with both his right foot and his left foot, Leandro says that ability was developed from a young age.

“To be fair, when I started to play football, my grandad always told me ‘you have to practice your left foot as well, it will help you so much when you become a professional footballer.’ When I started playing football, I always tried to use my left foot, even more than my right.

“I just back myself on either foot inside the box that I can score a goal.”

So how does Leandro cope with the pressure of performing at the highest level for such a huge club? Well, he makes it sound easy.

“For me, luckily I’m a pretty relaxed guy,” he said. “For me, it’s quite easy, I just focus on football and enjoying my game and that’s all I care about, if you can be on that pitch and give something back to the supporters, it’s the most beautiful feeling.

“My missus even tells me before the game that I wouldn’t even look up to see where my family is because I’m so focused on the game and enjoying that 90-95 minutes that I get, or if you’re on the bench, 20 minutes, that’s all I play for.”