Zinchenko would have already been aware that Timber and Calafiori are ahead of him in the pecking order for the left back position.
He might have assumed that injuries and suspension gave him a chance of starting on Sunday though.
Yet his boss preferred to play Partey out of position instead of asking Timber to move to the right side and the Ukrainian getting a start.
With two further defenders subbed at the weekend because of injuries, the 27-year-old was the only natural defender on the bench, yet Lewis Skelley was preferred. An 18-year-old yet to start in the Premiership whose actual role in the academy is midfielder.
The full back appears honest enough to know that if he’s not getting any minutes when the squad is having so many issues, when will he get another opportunity?
He’s also worked with his boss enough to know that he won’t be getting an arm round the shoulder or an explanation of what he’s done wrong.
History shows that even if he was impressive in the League Cup it might not change his status.
I have long written about Mikel Arteta’s worrying habit of giving up on talent the moment he feels they don’t suit his ethos.
He’s been allowed to believe this is standard practice. Edu and the Kroenke Family have allowed the Spaniard to believe it’s acceptable to wash his hands of assets instead of getting the best of the resources he has to work with.
He trusted Zinchenko in our opening game of the season so is it acceptable to suddenly discard the same individual?
The man himself has had his fitness issues but has been available for selection for the last few fixtures.
Even at his best, he’s never been someone you would defensively trust to help you see out matches, hence why he mostly plays further forward for his country.
His strength is actually timing when to step into the middle and join the attack, skills that originally caught opponents by surprise when he moved to North London.
Even when starting, he would often be taken off when it was time to close out a game.
Arteta gets paid a lot of money to use the tools at his disposal so surely leaving out an experienced pro for a rookie out of position is poor decision making?
A decision which has never worked either, him failing both times to protect leads in the League.
If you suddenly don’t trust Zinchenko defensively, shouldn’t you coach him to be better, teach him new skills, train him to learn?
Isn’t that your job?
Not simply to pay him to sit on the bench.
Poor man management can be overlooked when the team is winning, but it’s highlighted more when points are being dropped.
Take Kiwior being a sub subbed at Bournemouth. When we went on the attack on the South Coast any other defender should have been sacrificed to protect the Pole’s confidence. Other managers would have that long-term thinking.
The assumption was it would be okay because Calafiori and White would replace Saliba. Kiwior’s lack of self-belief became an issue once the injuries increased though because suddenly, we have a 23-year-old coming on who knows he’s not trusted making the Emirates anxious. In reality Kiwior cost 20 million yet he’s being treated like an academy player the way he’s being treated.
Last week against Shakhtar Donetsk at full time, Zinchenko took time to interact with the travelling fans, giving his shirt to a youngster.
It’s a reminder of what a decent human he is.
To Ukraine, he’s been one of the biggest sporting celebrities to speak so passionately about the war in his country.
When your nation is experiencing turmoil, how little football you play is trivial.
He should start at Preston, but I sense it will be one of his final starts?
Another player was frozen out by Arteta. At a time when we could do with him…
Dan
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Zinchenko is not match fit due to his ongoing injury problems which is why he was not “risked” against a formidable opponent like Salah.I expect him to start at LB tomorrow along with, White, Saliba, and,despite his recent costly errors, Kwior.
Grandad,
You say it was lack of match fitness with his on going injury problems that cost him a starting place against Liverpool.
So it wasn’t anything to do with him being a liability at left back. (My bad).
Derek, why do you think I specifically mentioned Salah if I was unaware of the deficiencies of Zinchenko at left back?
I’m not sure that Arteta can afford to freeze anyone out if they’re fit, of course. Currently, injuries and unfit players are putting a strain on the resources that Arteta has to play with.
Arteta may not be a fan of Zinchenko because he doesn’t trust him to deliver the goods – but neither does Jesus and Arteta plays him, doesn’t he.
That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if Arsenal tried to offload Zinchenko in the summer.
Am not sure the gaffer is not a fan of the Ukrainian, in fact i happened to think he’s a big fan of the player despite his defensive weaknesses.
Have seen Zinchenko chosen time and time again over proven better defenders, he always get the nod over Kiwoir and Tierney.
Surely there has to be some fitness issues, the gaffer rarely freeze out his hand pick talents.
Been in last few squads mate and last two games an 18;year old midfielder been chosen ahead of him
I’m not quite sure I understand the whole theme of this article. If it is a critique of Arteta’s man management skills because he habitually freezes out out-of-favoir players instead of coaching them to be better, then I’d beg to disagree.
I need to be shown one player who was “frozen out” by Arteta and who went on to paint the town red with his football
Its about getting the best out of the resources you have
So to me , Im watching an 18 year old midfielder come on against Liverpool when an experienced left back is there
We then concede from that side
He should be getting the best out of the resources he has
It’s not okay to pay 30 million for a player and then put an 18 year old midfielder at left back and then watch us conceded
I can give you examples where he froze out players and it cost us our aims
Agree Dan. And it’s not the fault of MLS. He is just a teenager learning the game. Up to the manager to pick the right moments. Funny Mikel talks about this too but he consistently picks the wrong moments for both Nwaneri and MLS. It’s obvious to pick an experienced player over an 18 year old still learning the position to close out a game.
The author has long tried to establish a negative perception of Arteta and readily trots these criticisms out whenever we have a drop in performance.
Zinchenko has had fitness issues and when you consider matches against Liverpool he’s had difficulty coping with the likes of Salah even when fully fit.
Myles Kelly has already played at LB this season and before so it’s not as if this is new to him. There’s nothing egregious about him coming on late in a game when we are down on numbers.
Are we really to believe that Zinchenko is frozen out because he does not walk straight back into the team on return from injury? Why would Arteta want to freeze out a player in whom he invested so much and who was such an important part of the team when he joined?
The author’s narratives also lack coherence. On the one hand he suggests that Zinchenko has defensive limitations whilst on the other criticising the manager for not bringing him on to see out the game.
From what I can see, this is a typical hatchet job which serves no purpose but as an attempt to discredit the manager
This article is really has nothing to do with Zinchenko but is just a vehicle for Dan to find fault with Arteta and who he picks to play.
Simple answer. Zinchenko is not the left back to defend against Salah. Liverpool is probably the last team for Zinchenko to get time on the pitch. Nothing more than this.
And In midweek ?
The leaf back position is well covered by Calafiori, Timber. Lewis and Tomiyasu when he is fit.
Zinchenko do not have the specific characteristics required for that position; so he should be trained to play in the midfield as he play for Ucrania and to be a complement of Merino.
I thing Arteta will find the way to salvage his future.
Havertz.
Sterling. Nwaneri. Jesus.
Merino. Jorginho.
Zinchenko. Kiwior. Saliba. White.
Raya.
Can not you see the consequences of risking in this Cup an injury to Havertz, White and Saliba when we to play as visitor to Newcastle, International and Chelsea in the next 11 days to keep our hopes for the Pl.Title and Champions qualification.
Maybe it’s fitness. Either way, MLS is not ready to be a backup fullback for league matches. More likely we hold on if Zinny came in. I’m ready for people to say he’s a defensive liability but he did start tons of games for us in prior seasons and put in top performances even last season during our unbeaten run. But this is now the Arteta that doesn’t take any risks and would rather the team just sit back than have control of a game. To the teams detriment
RSH
You may well be right about Skelly not being ready but I didn’t read a single post in the lead up to the match that wanted Zinchenko in the lineup. It’s guesswork to think that either would have been a better choice after Timber went off. As we know what happened, those remarks are simple to make but a difficult choice to make when the decision needed making then. Arteta did what he thought was right
“any other defender should have been sacrificed to protect the Pole’s confidence.” I am surprised nobody commented on this terrible take.
So u are actually saying that Arteta should have removed Ben white or Calafiori who are vastly more offensive than Kiwior or removed our best defender Gabriel who is also a major aerial threat, just to protect Kiwior confidence lmao.
About Zinchenko even at his best, Arteta has never trusted him vs Salah when tomiyasu was available. Your average fan understand that this is a mismatch. Surely Arteta has deducted in training that Skelly would fare better.
Arteta get criticized for not trusting youngsters then when he trust them over experienced players then the narrative changes to this, ridiculous.
Obviously these were deliberate bait to attract comments.
Ackshay
Spot on. As I wrote earlier, this article was nothing more than another hatchet job on Arteta and the claim you highlighted about Kiwior takes the biscuit. Had we won on Sunday, I can’t imagine this piece would have been written at all.