Oleksander Zinchenko missed Arsenal’s game against Fulham owing to a calf injury that Mikel Arteta could not clarify the severity of. After witnessing Jakub Kiwior struggle at left back against Fulham, and with Takehiro Tomiyasu joining the Japan national team ahead of the Asian games, Arsenal fans have been worried for the better part of this week that they may not have a recognized fullback when they play Liverpool this Saturday.
Throughout the week, there were numerous suggestions for how Arsenal should handle the matter. Many people did not want to see Kiwior play left back again; thus, some suggested recalling Kieran Tierney after his loan spell at Real Sociedad. There was also speculation about signing a left-back.
The good news is that, for the game against Liverpool, Mikel Arteta has hinted that Oleksander Zinchenko may be available for selection. He said of the Ukrainian international, as per Football London, “He’s progressing well. We have another training session tomorrow. We’ll evaluate if he’s ready to start the game. The rest, there is no news.”
It’s fantastic news that Zinchenko might be fit for selection against Liverpool. I hope he’s back to his best. Anyway, there has been discussion of Arsenal purchasing a top left back, and I believe that is a major move that should not be overlooked. Zinchenko hasn’t been very great at times, and competition may be the perfect way to motivate him to improve.
Darren N
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But it’s been pointed out elsewhere that he’s not been spotted in the training pictures in Arsenal.com. I was also particularly looking out for him.
Is the absence of Zinchenko a damaging blow or an event which highlights our need for a natural left back who could encourage Arteta to revert to a more conventional set up rather than persist with his inverted obsession which has had its day.The trouble is Zinchenko is no use as a conventional left back and does not seem to have the strength and energy to operate as a left sided central midfielder.So how do we accommodate a very intelligent, skilful ball player who can open defences with his passing ability?Could we switch to a back three comprising White, Saliba and Gabriel and use Zinchenko as a left wing back.That might work but then who would play at right wing back bearing in mind Timber and Tomi are not available.Could ESR or Nelson fill that role? I don’t think so.Basically we simply do not have natural full backs whereas, our nearby rivals have no fewer than five.How did we get into this mess, and can our Manager find a way to keep us in contention when we seem to have limited resources in terms of defenders and when we are virtually dependant on Rice to win the ball in midfield.Perhaps these apparent weaknesses can be addressed during the current transfer window but somehow I doubt it.