Oleksandr Zinchenko: C’est Zinny

[Ljonin]

He's had like one bad game. Why would he need to sit down?

He’s been below par for a couple of games, and we have an elite left back rotting away on the bench.

 

[pigge]

He’s been below par for a couple of games, and we have an elite left back rotting away on the bench.

I remember him being: great vs Sp**s and united, bit poor vs everton and poor today.

 

[TheDrunkenMaster]

Him and Martinelli were constantly infield today making it even easier for brentford to defend imo.

 

[Pop Tart]

God forbid he gets criticism.

 

[Tourbillion]

He was awful against Everton and today.

 

[Pop Tart]

But but he is better then Tavares who is better then Tierney...**** off you wee gobshite

 

[Mudi]

Tbh, Zinchenko playing LB/CM makes the left side too much crowded. We have no overlapping LB which makes the winger to play wide all the time with little support. If you then have a winger that cannot beat his man, you are limiting danger coming from left side. That's why Trossard seems more dangerous than Martinelli.

Against open teams, it is not a problem to play with Zinchenko, Xhaka and Martinelli.

Against structured teams (Newcastle, Everton, Brentford), it is a big handicap.

 

[Pop Tart]

top player no mistakes in his career.

 

[Batman]

He’s been below par for a couple of games, and we have an elite left back rotting away on the bench.

Tierney is not elite. He's made of glass and offers nothing going forward but putting his head down and smashing woeful crosses that lead to nothing, a role Martinelli is filling quite well. He's a nice lad and he might present a good alternative to Zinchenko at LB against certain opponents and in certain scenarios but at no point has he ever been elite. You can't be injured all the time and elite. The lack of impact Zinchenko has had in the last 2 matches is about Tierney's average impact.

 

[Red London]

He trying hard in this role and at home game is just unnecessary to use him like this he asked to fullback and number 8 as same time its just unnecessary away from home maybe it'll work because we have more space

I think the problem is he is playing wayyyy too forward right now.

So instead of playing inverted LB and like a number 6 or 6/8 hybrid, he is playing like an inverted LB and a number 8/10 hybrid.

He has been sensational over the last few weeks to be fair to him, seen some very sublime football from him that Wenger would have been proud of and he’s an asset to our squad.

However, he is not super man. He is already a good defender, and essentially world class when it comes to press resistance and build up play from deep.

Something he is not accustomed to though is decision making in the final 3rd, at the end of the day this is the skill which earns most attacking players their pay cheque. When he is arriving on the edge of the box he is making the wrong decisions and trying too hard to do things.

He is a wonderful player in our 3rd of the pitch, the middle 3rd of the pitch, but when it comes to the final 3rd- he shouldn’t be getting as many touches there as he is.

Let’s alter our tactics and either get a technical number 8 on the ball there or Trossard at LW at least until Jesus returns who can help that left side.

 

[Gunner-Union]

Needs to change it up and sometime perform as a regular full back and go wide and be an overlap. Would also keep opposition guessing as he could go both ways atm its a little predictable

 

[Tnegs]

Tierney is not elite. He's made of glass and offers nothing going forward but putting his head down and smashing woeful crosses that lead to nothing, a role Martinelli is filling quite well. He's a nice lad and he might present a good alternative to Zinchenko at LB against certain opponents and in certain scenarios but at no point has he ever been elite. You can't be injured all the time and elite. The lack of impact Zinchenko has had in the last 2 matches is about Tierney's average impact.

He might not be elite but his attacking runs and overlapping on the left would spread play making the opposition less compact and create space for the playmakers to try and play in behind. Having a LB who keeps coming inside to play as LCM in an already congested center is pretty useless in games like yesterday.

 

[A_G]

 

[Trilly]

He is a wonderful player in our 3rd of the pitch, the middle 3rd of the pitch, but when it comes to the final 3rd- he shouldn’t be getting as many touches there as he is.

I did think this, he was making decisions that didn't seem like him. Rushing shots/passes and shooting when he should pass, passing when he should shoot and so on.

Looked a far cry from the guy who was the most composed player in the team in prior weeks.

 

[Oxeki]

Against structured teams (Newcastle,

He was our best player against Newcastle.

 

[Red London]

I did think this, he was making decisions that didn't seem like him. Rushing shots/passes and shooting when he should pass, passing when he should shoot and so on.

Looked a far cry from the guy who was the most composed player in the team in prior weeks.

In my opinion he’s still been just as composed, but in much more deep positions.

We are coming up extremely parked buses who are doubling up on our wingers now, so it’s become more of a test of his final 3rd play which he’s not as strong at.

Tbh I don’t think it’s the end of the world, he’s world class in the centre of the park for me. We just need our left sided forward players (left 8, LW and ST) to do a better job.

 

[DUFFMAN]

Walker and Grealish rattled this lad in the Etihad 2 weeks ago.

 

[Nunowoolmez]

I'm a bit concerned Zinny will be overly pumped & play the occasion, wanting to over impress Pep. That could lead to mistakes or worse, red card..

Hes an experienced player so hopefully he can be professional & just focus on his role.

 

[BigPoppaPump]

Getting real sick of him and his one trick pony style, needs to be dropped for a few games.

 

[bingobob]

Im not gonna get involved in who is better or who should start - both have a place and both have outstanding qualities in their own right.

What i think is interesting is that over the Arteta rein we've been heavily reliant on whichever left back is fielded to be a main source of our creativity. And with that some of the criticism toward Zinchenko is unfair.