Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard has highlighted that people were arguing about decisions long before VAR, urging patience with the system.

BRENTFORD, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 25: Leandro Trossard of Arsenal in action during the Premier League match between Brentford FC and Arsenal FC at Gtech Community Stadium on November 25, 2023 in Brentford, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
BRENTFORD, ENGLAND: Leandro Trossard of Arsenal in action during the Premier League match between Brentford FC and Arsenal FC at Gtech Community Stadium on November 25, 2023. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Leandro Trossard perhaps has more reasons than most to feel a bit frustrated with VAR at the moment, having had his goal at the weekend ruled out.

Though it ultimately appeared to be the correct decision, it was the kind of goal you probably wouldn’t have seen ruled out in the past, so it’s easy to blame VAR for the decision to disallow it.

But when asked about the call in a pre-Lens press conference, Trossard said they just had to take it in their stride.

“That’s football,” Trossard said. “There are so many things that you can think about, but in the end, it’s a disallowed goal so you have to move on and that’s what we did.”

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Belgium's Leandro Trossard (R) kicks the ball during the UEFA Champions League Qualifying Group F football match between Belgium and Azerbaijan at The King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, on November 19, 2023. (Photo by JOHN THYS/AFP via Getty Images)
Belgium’s Leandro Trossard (R) kicks the ball during the UEFA Champions League Qualifying Group F football match between Belgium and Azerbaijan at The King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, on November 19, 2023. (Photo by JOHN THYS/AFP via Getty Images)

As for the implementation of VAR in general, Trossard gave a balanced viewpoint, accepting that mistakes are part of the game.

“Obviously with VAR we want the best possible outcome, but everyone can have mistakes or some things can happen,” Trossard continued. “If it doesn’t go your way then you have to take it on the chin in that moment.

“Obviously it’s not nice for yourself, but you can’t change it in the moment, it’s the same with my disallowed goal that we had in the game. Maybe it’s offside, maybe it’s not, but we have to move on.

“It’s for the guys who work with VAR to deal with it, so it’s not up to us to change anything.”

Arsenal's Belgian midfielder #19 Leandro Trossard (C) celebrates with teammates after scoring their second goal during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in London on October 21, 2023. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Arsenal’s Belgian midfielder #19 Leandro Trossard (C) celebrates with teammates after scoring their second goal during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in London on October 21, 2023. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

There’s an increasing debate over whether VAR has improved things at all, given all the complaints about decisions on a weekly basis.

But Trossard highlights that we had plenty of arguments about the same calls before VAR was introduced.

“We need to get used to it,” Trossard said of VAR. “I think they want to improve as well, I think everyone wants to improve, but only time will tell how good it can be.

“Before we had a lot of discussion, when VAR was not there, when there were situations if it would be a goal or not or if a tackle would have been a red card.

“We can have an argument on so many things, but we have to live with it now and we can only hope for the best.”

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