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Oleksandr Zinchenko: C’est Zinny

Rasmi

Negative Nancy

Country: England
He is basically doing two jobs. Left back and LCM. He is doing most of our build up and has made xhaka redundant

Arteta needs to grow a pair in the summer and get rid of xhaka and move Zinchenko up and get a left back. It’s so clear teams have realised you can hurt us going behind him when he comes up to build our play up. This will be a theme to the end of the season where we will be attacked a lot more on the left. Sporting would have gotten 4 today if Arteta didn’t sub him after 60 mins as they clearly let him have the ball and urging him to get forward so they could target behind him
 

bingobob

A-M’s Resident Hunskelper
Trusted ⭐

Country: Scotland
If Zinchenko is going to constantly come infield Id move him into midfield but I wouldn't expect the same results. It's a different ball game picking it up deep and running forward than it is back to goal.

A good not so recent example was the Ox when Wenger played him as a WB. His game changed for the better having the space wing back afforded him.

The alternative is he mixes it up. Against Bournemouth they struggled when he began staying wide and id prefer he mixed it up. Unfortunately his ability at drifting in is to important - but really the emphasis is on too much of a good thing. Pick and choose better for offensive and defensive reason's.
 

LittleMo

Active Member
He is basically doing two jobs. Left back and LCM. He is doing most of our build up and has made xhaka redundant

Arteta needs to grow a pair in the summer and get rid of xhaka and move Zinchenko up and get a left back. It’s so clear teams have realised you can hurt us going behind him when he comes up to build our play up. This will be a theme to the end of the season where we will be attacked a lot more on the left. Sporting would have gotten 4 today if Arteta didn’t sub him after 60 mins as they clearly let him have the ball and urging him to get forward so they could target behind him

I would have liked to have seen Arteta try that at least once this season, putting him into Xhaka’s position and having Tierney at LB. It has been suggested quite a bit online and so if it’s occurred to half the fans, it must have occurred to Arteta as an option, but he seems to not want to try it.
 

Tir Na Nog

Changes Opinion Every 5 Minutes

Country: Ireland
When Zinny was signed Arteta made it very clear he was coming to play LB. This was an important tactical evolution for our team and one Arteta is gonna keep. Furthermore, he wouldn't get the same freedom being put in the LCM position.
 
He's an amazing player, but I'm genuinely starting to get nervous that his temper is going to cost us dearly at a pivotal moment. It's one thing to be passionate. But yesterday it was like he was anger personified at times. He reacted extremely emotionally to every little thing that happened on the pitch. Celebrated clearances like a goals, and seemed ready for a scrap everytime a foul happened.

Im getting Xhaka red card era vibes from him, and he looked like a walking red card in several matches this season. He needs to calm down. For the sake of the team, and his own health. It's not healthy being that wound up through the entire matches.
 

Blood on the Tracks

AG's best friend, role model and mentor.
Trusted ⭐

Country: England

Player:Rice
I'd not even think of pushing Zinchenko into midfield. It's not necessary and counter productive.

He is the one that gives us the numerical advantage and helps overrun the opposition CM coming from LB. You've essentially got 2 players in one as he is.

He's an inverted LB technically but considering how dominant we tend to be in terms of possession and pitch position in reality he's more of a LCM who fills in a LB when we don't have the ball.
 

LittleMo

Active Member
When Zinny was signed Arteta made it very clear he was coming to play LB. This was an important tactical evolution for our team and one Arteta is gonna keep. Furthermore, he wouldn't get the same freedom being put in the LCM position.

If that side is being targeted and it’s making us defensively shaky, then it doesn’t matter what they said then. You have to change and fix it.
 

El Duderino

That's, like, your opinion, man.
Moderator
When Zinny was signed Arteta made it very clear he was coming to play LB. This was an important tactical evolution for our team and one Arteta is gonna keep. Furthermore, he wouldn't get the same freedom being put in the LCM position.

I'd not even think of pushing Zinchenko into midfield. It's not necessary and counter productive.

He is the one that gives us the numerical advantage and helps overrun the opposition CM coming from LB. You've essentially got 2 players in one as he is.

He's an inverted LB technically but considering how dominant we tend to be in terms of possession and pitch position in reality he's more of a LCM who fills in a LB when we don't have the ball.

Point me and @bingobob are making is that Mikel needs to mix it up a bit by either moving him central while playing a more convencional lb or having him hug the touch line a bit more to give us width.

all depending on the opposition and game state, of course.
 

Tir Na Nog

Changes Opinion Every 5 Minutes

Country: Ireland
Point me and @bingobob are making is that Mikel needs to mix it up a bit by either moving him central while playing a more convencional lb or having him hug the touch line a bit more to give us width.

all depending on the opposition and game state, of course.

But playing Zinchenko as a LCM is pointless as he'll be easier to deal with for the opposition, the reason he's so effectively is because of the free extra man role he has. We play a more conventional LB with Zinchenko in midfield and our whole system and approach has to change and we don't know how Zinchenko will perform within those constraints. Arteta has never tried him in midfield, Pep I don't remember him doing it either. I don't think it's an option, certainly not one that'll be used ahead of Xhaka or even Vieira.

If Zinchenko at LB becomes too big a problem, he'll be dropped far quicker than he'll be moved to midfield.
 

Blood on the Tracks

AG's best friend, role model and mentor.
Trusted ⭐

Country: England

Player:Rice
Point me and @bingobob are making is that Mikel needs to mix it up a bit by either moving him central while playing a more convencional lb or having him hug the touch line a bit more to give us width.

all depending on the opposition and game state, of course.

Honestly I'm not sure how good Zinchenko would do as an out and out CM. I don't remember Pep playing him there too many times.

I do agree that in certain games against weaker sides that sit deep we could do with a bit more natural width from LB. It would definitely help Martinelli out a bit too as he is often a bit of a peripheral figure out there without much support.

I think against better sides I'll always prefer Zinchenko in this inverted LB role though. I think he adds a lot of control and lets up dominate the centre of the park.
 

El Duderino

That's, like, your opinion, man.
Moderator
Honestly I'm not sure how good Zinchenko would do as an out and out CM. I don't remember Pep playing him there too many times.

I do agree that in certain games against weaker sides that sit deep we could do with a bit more natural width from LB. It would definitely help Martinelli out a bit too as he is often a bit of a peripheral figure out there without much support.

I think against better sides I'll always prefer Zinchenko in this inverted LB role though. I think he adds a lot of control and lets up dominate the centre of the park.

Yeah, it's about balance.

You can see how Martinelli (or any of our wingers) suffer from not having either Jesus or an overlap, so it's more in a way of evolution and not revolution, i.e. adding options to our play depending of the opposition or how the game is going.

Didn't Zynchenko play an amazing game for Ukraine as CM just as we were getting linked to him? I think he'd do really well as left CM, specially with Jesus playing.

Not a slight on Xhaka, but if his third man runs were dangerous with Gabi J. on the pitch, I can only imagine what a player with a little bit more speed (both in quickness of thought and actual, physical speed) could do.
 

bingobob

A-M’s Resident Hunskelper
Trusted ⭐

Country: Scotland
Zinchenko plays as an advanced midfielder for Ukraine and personally if he was to make a shift into midfield that's where I'd play him. It'll give him that freedom to drift which he thrives in.

The issue he has at left back is he simply comes infield to much. If you are a left footer moving the ball from left to right you are naturally controlling the ball with the inside of your foot - you want to keep it close and move it in the eaiest way to your destination. Your weight is balanced in such a way that your passing naturally becomes restricted to roughly 90 degrees. You have to stop, shift or reposition yourself to open up the remaining 180 Infront of you. The result is exactly what we see - our attacks gravitate toward the right side and our left side becomes isolated. If you don't believe me stand up walk right of centre now try kick an imaginary ball to your left. It's either an exceptionally difficult outside of the boot pass or as mentioned, stopping, repositioning yourself. Those split seconds matter, the loss of momentum matters.

A bit more variety stops the predicability of our attack coming down the right. I don't think it's a big ask to introduce a bit of variety. No different really to people saying I'd wish Tierney stopped spamming crosses, sometimes they can be effective but if you know it's gonna happen every time it's easier to defend.
 

EmeryCouldnt

Established Member
People calling to move zinchenko to midfield and buy proper left back, but they don’t realize this tactic is obviously by design, not for lack of a proper midfielder or left back. We are overloading midfield on the attack.
 
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