Oleksander Zinchenko appears to be on a resurgence mission for Arsenal, based on his last two league appearances. Before the international break, the Ukrainian was impressive against Burnley. He dazzled not only at left defense in the game, but also in midfield in the latter stages after Vieira was sent off. His solid performances didn’t go unnoticed.
With that out of the way, the ex-Manchester City player sparkled against Brentford. He didn’t appear to be a defensive liability, and his last-ditch save after his own error prevented Brian Mbuemo from scoring.
Former England footballer Lucy Ward commended Arsenal’s left back for his performance on Saturday night, noting that even though the Gunner can be criticized for the quality of his defending at times, he was defensively okay yesterday.
“I think Zinchenko’s played well tonight; defended well, which sometimes he’s criticized for,” Ward told TNT Sports.
“He’s basically a central midfielder playing at left back, but he does invert into that central area. But he certainly adds that calm and composed technical aspect to the way Arsenal play.”
Zinchenko was without a doubt one of Arsenal’s best players, with a 93% passing accuracy (completing 70 of his 75 passes), 2 opportunities, 10 passes in the final third, 5 recoveries, and 2 clearances.
There is hope that Zinchenko can build on his current good form. The competition at left back, with Tomiyasu capable of replicating what he provides, has really woken him up. Zinchenko was clearly one of Arsenal’s game-changers last season, and if he can find consistency, Arsenal will truly soar, as we expect them to.
Sam P
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He was brilliiant! He did’nt get to play as an inverted LB yesterday because of the way we were set up to approach the game. He could’ve assisted a couple times if our CF were to be a tall guy as both Gabi’s missed the chances to put us ahead no thanks to their height causing an inbalance upon making contact with the ball, hence the inability to keep the ball’s trajectory on target. fortunately it turned out an opportunity to make the day for Havartz.
He made a good goal line save and had a few good moments but I honestly think Tomiyasu is a better left back than him, certainly better defensively and possibly better offensively. In my opinion, Zinchenko would be better suited to midfield like he plays for his country.
Yea, I still wonder why Arteta is yet to play Zichenko as a midfielder like he plays for his country. Arteta seem very rigid in his tactics and thereby limiting the skill set of some of his players.