Arsenal could once again be without Oleksandr Zinchenko…
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According to football.london, the versatile 25-year-old missed the Gunners’ final training session before today’s encounter with Liverpool in the Premier League, making him doubtful to face the Reds at the Emirates Stadium.
The Ukraine star was a notable absentee for Thursday night’s emphatic win over Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League and whilst he hasn’t been ruled out today just yet, he was missing for training before that clash, only raising suspicions over whether or not he will be involved this afternoon.
Big blow for Arsenal
With Zinchenko not featuring at London Colney on Saturday, it would be a massive surprise to see him named in the starting XI and Kieran Tierney’s premature withdrawal in midweek would suggest that he’s in line to start once again.
And whilst he’s a more than solid and capable option at left-back, it’s Zinchenko, his presence and experience as a four-time Premier League champion that Arsenal will miss most.
As a midfielder by trade, the 25-year-old dynamo can look to impact the game further up the pitch, with the right-back usually a player with central defensive capabilities, such as Ben White or Takehiro Tomiyasu. In the transition, it goes to a back three and Zinchenko can be an additional presence in the middle and final thirds.
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“Arsenal are controlling games a lot more easily because of it. Zinchenko is so good at tidying up counter-attacks as well. He keeps the team ticking,” recently claimed former Gunners star Kevin Campbell, who also described the former Manchester City man as the “ultimate” utility man. “It has been incredible to watch the adjustment. Long may it continue because it is exciting.”
The £150k-per-week sensation has also outranked Tierney for key statistics such as tackles, interceptions and pass success per game in the English top-flight (via WhoScored), which would make him a far more reliable defender too, on the face of it and that sort of skillset will be needed against Mohamed Salah and co.
So if manager Mikel Arteta does not have the Ukrainian, who commentator Buchi Laba once lauded as a “beast”, available at the Emirates, it’ll certainly be a big blow to their chances of thwarting Liverpool and extending their lead at the top of the table.