Arteta told now is the time to use struggling £32m Arsenal star in new position

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Journalist James McNicholas wants to see Oleksandr Zinchenko given a chance to play in midfield for Arsenal.

Arsenal left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko has been struggling to produce his best form in recent weeks. The Ukrainian’s defensive frailties have made him a target for opposition teams.

However, at his best, Zinchenko is a hugely influential figure for Arsenal on the ball. The 26-year-old plays the left-back role in an inverted fashion, regularly drifting into the middle of the park, where he can get on the ball more and become something of an auxiliary playmaker. This has given rise to the notion that Zinchenko should be used as an orthodox member of the midfield unit.

James McNicholas certainly feels that Mikel Arteta ought to experiment with starting the £32 million former Manchester City man in the middle of the park. Speaking on the Arsecast Extra podcast, he said, “one point on Zinchenko…when are we ever going to see this guy play in midfield? In the absence of people like Thomas Partey, Martin Odegaard, I do kind of think, if not now, when? I’d be very curious to see it.”

Oleksandr Zinchenko ideal option to shake things up at Arsenal

Zinchenko has been used as a midfielder before. Whilst he earned his reputation as a full-back in the Premier League, across spells at the Etihad Stadium and the Emirates Stadium, he tends to play as a midfielder at international level.

Given the impressive recent form of Takehiro Tomiyasu, the left-back role is covered. However, the injuries to Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard have left Arteta light on options in the middle of the park. Zinchenko has the technical ability to be a rotation option for these sidelined stars.

If there was ever a time for Arteta to use Zinchenko as a midfielder then it is surely now. If not as a starter, the 57-cap Ukraine international could come into the midfield from the bench just to shake up how the Gunners play. He would certainly add additional guile and creativity to a unit that has looked uninspired in recent weeks.