‘Looks suspect’: Mikel Arteta told £32m Arsenal star still has one major flaw

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Journalist Charles Watts was far from impressed by what he saw from Arsenal left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko against West Ham United.

To a man, Arsenal were poor in their 3-1 EFL Cup defeat against West Ham United last night. However, Oleksandr Zinchenko was notably at fault for the second goal that the Gunners conceded.

The Ukrainian defender was caught under a long ball which came to Mohammed Kudus. The Hammers’ attacker then cut inside the Arsenal man too easily, and found the space to fire past Aaron Ramsdale into the bottom corner.

Charles Watts felt that this moment exposed the defensive flaws in the £32 million former Manchester City man’s game. Writing for Goal, he gave the 26-year-old a 3/10 rating for his performance, and said Zinchenko was “not at his best. Switched off in the passage of play that led to the corner that saw West Ham go in front. Defensively he still looks suspect, which showed on the second goal as well.”

Oleksandr Zinchenko becoming a target

That second goal moment aside, Zinchenko was also uncharacteristically poor on the ball. As per Sofascore statistics, he lost possession eight times during the match.

Going into the match, Zinchenko was facing a fight for his regular starting berth in the side, with Takehiro Tomiyasu having impressed at left-back in recent weeks. Fans have recently been calling for Tomiyasu to become the first choice pick in that position.

On the basis of Zinchenko’s performance on Wednesday evening and the attacking threat that Newcastle United will pose, Mikel Arteta would be wise to give the Japanese defender the nod for this Saturday’s Premier League excursion to St James’ Park.

Zinchenko is a quality player, and has brought a lot to this Arsenal side since his arrival at the Emirates Stadium. However, if he is now being targeted as a potential weak link in the Gunners’ back line then that is a major problem. The full-back will need to raise his game if he is to keep his place in Arteta’s pecking order. Arsenal can’t afford to be carrying any liabilities at the back.