Arsenal fans told one player is ‘not as bad’ as they fear despite ‘bad’ Porto display

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Journalist Kaya Kaynak has now insisted that one Arsenal star is better than people think, despite having seemingly lost his starting berth.

Oleksandr Zinchenko now faces a fight to get back into the Arsenal starting XI owing to the form of Jakub Kiwior.

Kiwior was called upon to fill-in at left-back as a half-time substitute against Liverpool back on February 4th, after Zinchenko picked up a knock. He has started every game for the Gunners since.

This is not the first spell that the Polish defender has spent in the Arsenal side as a makeshift left-back, as he is naturally a centre-back by trade. However, in recent weeks, Mikel Arteta has made a tactical tweak in order to better accommodate the former Spezia man and play to his strengths. 

When Zinchenko is in the team, he performs his left-back duties in an inverted manner. This means that he habitually drifts into the middle of the park to become something of an auxiliary midfielder when the Gunners are looking to build up attacking moves. The Ukrainian is exceptionally technically gifted and is a creative force, allowing him to flourish in this part of the pitch. Kiwior never looked comfortable when attempting to replicate this function.

Who will win the battle to be the starting Arsenal left-back, Jakub Kiwior or Oleksandr Zinchenko?

As such, in recent weeks, he has been allowed to play the left-back role in a more orthodox manner. He pushes up the left-flank, and has shown that he can have an impact in the final third. In his last six Premier League outings, the 24-year-old has contributed a goal and three assists.

Meanwhile, right-back Ben White has been tasked with inverting from the opposite side of the pitch. The England man has proven to be adept at this. 

There have been calls for Kiwior to keep his place in the Arsenal starting XI. Arteta seems to be of the same mind, as Zinchenko is yet to return to the starting line-up.

Kiwior is certainly a more defensively solid option. Zinchenko has long been considered a liability at the back. Kiwior was hailed for a “monster” defensive performance against Porto on Tuesday evening. Arteta kept the Poland international on the pitch until half-time in extra-time, before finally throwing the former Manchester City man on in his place.

Kaya Kaynak has now given his verdict on the left-back situation, in light of Zinchenko’s struggles as a late substitute against Porto. Speaking on The Arsenal Beat podcast, the reporter said, “it was telling that when Zinchenko came on, Arsenal started to look a lot more weak defensively, and they looked a lot more vulnerable. I’m someone who isn’t necessarily fully on-board with the ‘if Zinchenko plays then Arsenal are basically conceding a goal to the opposition.’ I think he’s not as bad a defender as people say. He had a bad cameo [against Porto].”