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News
BBC pundit thought £32m Arsenal man’s performance gave Arteta a serious headache vs Chelsea
Pundit Pat Nevin has admitted that Oleksandr Zinchenko’s performance against Chelsea might have given 👍Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta some difficult deꦍcisions to make.
Nevin on the match for BBC 5 Live as Arsenal fought back to earn an important 2-2 draw.
The Gunners were outplayed in the first half at Stamford Bridge, struggling to break down Chelsea’s stubborn defence 🐈and being hit on the counterattack time and again.
One player who really struggled was Oleksandr Zinchenko, who ended up being substituted at half-time.
The Ukrainian internationa𒊎l was asked to play t🌼o invert into midfield as he typically does, but it left him out of position when Chelsea attacked.
Raheem Sterling had a field day last night and it was a cross from his flank that was headed onto William Saliba’s arm that gifted Chelsea their penalty.
Zinchenko was then booked for a foul on fellow countryman Mykhaylo Mudryk for breaking up an attack while on🐓 the right-hand side of midfield.
His positioning was a real problem and it was no surprise to see the more defensively sturdy Takehiro Tomiyasu brought on for the second half.
Zinchenko will want to move on from his performance against Chelsea quickly and hope he can keep his place in the Arsenal side going into their Ch♔ampions League clash on Tuesday.
Paul Merson predicted he might struggle last night and that q🅠uickly came true.
Zinchenko struggles for Arsenal vs. Chelsea
After picking up a booking before half-time, : “Do you kn🧸ow what? That’s a real problem for [Oleksandr] Zinchenko.
“I was mentioning before that ꩲif he comes infield too often, he’s leaving [Raheem] Sterling who is just flying down that wing.
“He’s got him for pace already, you stick a yelloꩲw card on top of that and through th🥃e rain over there I think Raheem Sterling is smiling and thinking, ‘Give me the ball’.
“A nominal left back that we know likes to step up into midfield, but every time🎐 he does Sterling has him in behind.
ꩵ“Add a yel💙low card onto that now and it’s going to be tricky for him today in this rain.”
Zinchenko wasn’t the only Arsenal player to struggle against Chelsea, with David Raya’s performance questioned as well.
It’s another example of Arsenal having to grind out a result ♕when not playing at their best, however, in a title race against Ma𓂃nchester City, they simply can’t afford to drop too many more points.
It will be a concern for Arte🌠ta 💜how difficult his side found it to break down Chelsea when they sat behind the ball.
Martin Odegaard had a poor g🐓ame and when he struggles the whole team appear to move the🍰 ball more slowly.
Zinchenko couldn’t pick up the sꦫlack in midfield and may have been better off staying out wide and providing more support for Gabriel Martinelli.