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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