Mikel Arteta has refused to confirm an ‘unbelievable’ Arsenal player he ‘loves’ still has a future at Emirates Stadium amid criticism over his recent displays with the Gunners.
The north London natives have endured a frustrating few days after spurning their chance to control the Premier League table. Now, Arsenal fly over to Bavaria to play Bayer Munich in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final. The tie is tied at 2-2 after their first leg.
Arsenal’s season may effectively be over with a month remaining of the campaign if they fall to a defeat in Germany. Arteta is now relying on Manchester City dropping points to win the Premier League title after Aston Villa dealt Arsenal a 2-0 loss at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Mikel Arteta believes Oleksandr Zinchenko has given Arsenal ‘so much’
The Villans defeat has also seen one Gunner come under fire once again after a tricky run of form. Journalist James McNicholas has suggested Arteta is starting to reconsider his trust in Oleksandr Zinchenko as the left-back has looked like ‘a bit of a relic’ in Arsenal’s recent run.
It is not the first time that the 27-year-old has come under fire this term, either. Tony Adams even branded Zinchenko a ‘complete weakness’ following Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa. Gary Neville also called him a ‘liability’ in the Gunners’ 1-1 draw with Liverpool in December.
Mikel Arteta refuses to confirm that Oleksandr Zinchenko still has a future
Arteta has largely kept his faith in Zinchenko whenever the Ukraine hero has been fit to play for Arsenal, still. He has featured in 33 of their 45 games across all competitions this season so far. Zinchenko has missed nine owing to injuries and been an unused substitute in three.
But while Arteta also still publicly backs Zinchenko and says he has given Arsenal ‘so much’, the Spaniard refused to confirm the left-back still has a future at Emirates Stadium. Instead, he sought to focus on Arsenal’s trip to Bayern Munich over saying Zinchenko will stay there.
“We love Alex,” Arteta said during his press conference on Tuesday. “He’s given us so much. He’s given us a lot and he’s up there with different qualities.
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“He has an unbelievable courage to play football given the circumstances, and as well as the demands. Stay with our players and support them because, for sure, they’re going to perform better.”
But when asked to discuss Zinchenko’s future at Arsenal, Arteta only added: “The decision is to be focused on the Champions League quarter-finals.”
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