Should Kiwior start if Zinchenko can’t?
Arsenal will welcome Roy Hodgson to The Emirates in what is set to be a massive match for Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal squad. Coming off three losses in a row, Arsenal and Arteta will be looking to bounce back into good form and start this year off properly.
Currently sitting 4th on the table, five points behind Liverpool in top spot, every single point and match counts and is a must-win from here forward if we want to walk away with Silverware this season.
With defender Oleksandr Zinchenko having serious question marks around his availability for Saturday’s clash against Palace. Zinchenko has missed the past two games against Liverpool and Fulham and has reportedly been nursing a calf injury that he picked up before our New Year’s Eve game against Fulham and is looking highly unlikely to be back for this game.
Plenty of photo’s have come out of training in Dubai, but he hasn’t been in those photos or videos which leads me to think it’s worse than first reported and might take a bit longer to get back to action. Jakub Kiwior is likely to fill in for the Ukrainian at left back but with Kiwior not being at his best it does make me wonder if there is any other options as Kiwior just doesn’t fit the system for me.
But with hardly any options at the back, with Tomiyasu away with Japan at The Asian Cup and Zinchenko unavailable, Kiwior seems like the only option but as I said, I don’t thin he fits the system that Arteta tries to play and maybe we should be considering playing somewhat of a back three when in transition and have the likes of Jorginho or Vieira dropping deeper at the back if need be.
But with the likes of Michael Olise coming at us down the right wing, maybe its not time to start tinkering with the backline. I know it’s a bit harsh but I just don’t have a lot of faith in Kiwior in our backline, he doesn’t seem to be able to read his teammates like he should and coming up against Olise on Saturday will be a massive challenge.
I do think he can do a job at left back and maybe I’m wrong, if Kiwior was given more minutes he would probably be in better form, like most players, but having Tomiyasu and Zinchenko missing is a huge loss for Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal squad as they look for their first win of this year.
Daisy Mae
MID-SEASON Report – Here is the latest DUBLIN ARSENAL video featuring OZZY, EAMONN, CRAIG and Jonathan looking back at how the Gunners performed in the first half of the 2023/24 season
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link…
