If Oleksander Zinchenko needs an opportunity to fight his way back to relevance, Arsenal vs. Liverpool could be it. Arsenal may not have their best left-back options available against the Reds due to injuries to Riccardo Calafiori and Takehiro Tomiyasu, while Jurrien Timber will play either at right-back or in central defence (to replace suspended William Saliba).
Though there is a demand for Mikel Arteta to start Myles Lewis Skelly as the left-back, I believe he should start Oleksander Zinchenko. Lewis Skelly is inexperienced, and playing him is a gamble that may backfire. I am confident that Zinchenko will excel against Liverpool.
The issue with Zinny is that his one-on-one defending is lacking, as evidenced in previous games against Liverpool, but with that being established, Arteta must find a solution to deal with his defensive troubles (whether that means asking Gabriel Martinelli to track back and assist him or going for a back three with Zinchenko playing as a wingback).
His defensive weaknesses aside, the Ukrainian international might be a valuable asset for Arsenal against Liverpool. Zinchenko could be the answer to Arsenal’s perceived lack of creativity in the absence of Martin Odegaard. With him, Arsenal could have a reliable passer against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon. They could have someone in him who manages the tempo in their favor while hurting the Reds in the midfield gaps they create.
Zinchenko might be just what Arsenal needs in terms of ball retention. His expertise and calm demeanor, especially in a group depleted of important players and confidence, could be a secret weapon for helping Arsenal return to winning ways in the league on Sunday evening.
Some people forget that on matchday one against Wolves, Zinchenko started at left back, with Calafiori and Timber on the bench. This indicated that Arteta still has faith in Zinchenko. Unfortunately, injuries have hindered him, but he is fit and could be crucial for Arsenal this evening.
Sam P
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Sam P,
Are you being serious, play Zinchenko at left back and Salah will have a field.
There’s only one place Zinchenko should be left back, and that’s left back in the dressing room where he belongs.
I was asked the other day where will I be watching the Arsenal v Liverpool game.
I responded, from behind the settee. 🤣
First line I missed the word day, (My Bad). 🤦♂️
Oh my Sam P, not in this fixture, the low block teams will provide better opportunities,
They are images of the Dutchman In training
Zinchenko at left back will be roasted by Salah.
————————Raya
—Timber—–White—Magahlase-Kiwoir
—————Party—-‘—-Rice
—Saka——-Merino——-Martineli
——————–‘Jesus
We are expected to dominate ball possession, so we set up 4 2 3 1, but quickly turn into a 4 3 3 attack from the whistle goes off
Gunsmoke,
Have you not watched Jesus this season, he should be nowhere near the first team.
Maybe at left back in the dressing room, or even at right back in the dressing room. There’s two good positions for him🤣.
Derek
Got to be careful, we shouldn’t throw out the baby with the bath water by disregarding the Brazilian internacional
Gunsmoke,
I’d also chuck the kitchen sink while I was at it.
Is Trossard and Kai injured
Babasola
Tossard is at his best coming off the bench after studying opposition for an hour.
Bless in abundance with ball sense, he’s probably one of the smartest in the Arsenal outfit
not sure I agree, on many levels
first of all Arteta has not been about ‘dominating ball possession’ of late, the opposite infact, think Surs, Man C and even PSG who we beat easily with PSG have the better of the possession stats
be prepared for Arsenal sit back and play an ‘out of possession’ game
secondly, no space for Havertz in your starting line up? and Merino as some sort of #10?
i pray Saka is fit to start, and may be even more so that Timber can start ahead of Zinc at left back
The Big German starts once fit he offers so much more and we are at home where’s he’s on fire, but not sure about his fitness why his exclusion.
But I do expect the kitchen sink to be thrown at the big pretender today.
Havertz has played every minute of every game, including two 90 minutes in the last week, nothing to suggest an injury keeping him out today
if however you are correct then we are well and truly cooked
1v1s are not zinchenko’s only defensive weakness and he may be more experienced than MLS, but our experience shows this is not the right game for zinchenko – you might say better the devil you know, but unless we’ve got a realistic plan to deal with Salah (and Trent), I’d rather take a chance. Kiwior is another option, but he’s not that much better at LB tbh.
If timber is available, our best bet that avoids starting MLS might be to put timber at lb, white at RB and either kiwior or rice at right CB, imo.
Partey is another option for RB (which arteta could go for tbh – allows us to put white at CB) but I’d rather not in a big game where the defence will be put under pressure.
agreed, Salah and Liverpool is precisely the wrong game for Zinc
Zinchenko will get roasted as he does every time he plays against Liverpool. So we nullify Martinelli who is gaining form by spending his time defending because Zinchenko can’t?
I’d rather Kiwior play and sit back and not advance, or play MLS. Already seen and know Zinchenko gets skinned, another try will yield the same result we have seen before.