Although he was diligent in his work yesterday, Mikel Arteta can still improve his Arsenal team by finding an upgrade on Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Zinchenko didn’t have a bad game by any means against Manchester City, he defended well in his one vs one duels.
But Arteta can still find a more complete option who can perform an inverted role as well as providing defensive stability.
There’s arguably no better full-back in the world in possession than Zinchenko, but other areas of his game can still be exposed.
It would have been unthinkable for Arteta to sub Ben White on the other side of the pitch, a player who dominated in attack and defence.
Yet, the Arsenal boss saw it necessary to sure up his side once again late on with the presence of Takehiro Tomiyasu at left-back.
Moreover, that’s not necessarily to say that Arteta needs to look to the transfer market to find an alternative for Zinchenko at Arsenal.
In fact, he may have already done that in the summer.
Jurrien Timber started the season at left-back and looked the complete package in his brief appearances.
Arteta may have been hoping Timber would replace Zinchenko at Arsenal
Of course, Timber was yet to face the test of a long run of fixtures but he did look to have the inverted qualities of Zinchenko, and the defensive prowess of Tomiyasu.
His injury was a huge blow.
But that’s not to say Arsenal need to return to the market either.
Arteta already has the numbers required at the back and Tomiyasu could be the man to fulfil the role.
Thomas Partey is likely to be fully fit after the international break and that may mean Arsenal require less ball-playing ability at left-back.
A midfield including Partey and Declan Rice isn’t likely to need too much help.
Therefore, with Timber out for the foreseeable, Tomiyasu is a ready made replacement for £30m Zinchenko at Arsenal.
And it’s going to be fascinating to see how Arteta uses his squad when club football returns.
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