Mikel Arteta is reluctant to deploy Oleksandr Zinchenko in a midfield role for Arsenal.
Arsenal left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko certainly has the capacity to play in the middle of the park.
In his role as an inverted full-back for the Gunners, he habitually drifts into the midfield zone, becoming a kind of ersatz playmaker, and giving his side a numerical advantage in that part of the pitch.
At international level, the Ukrainian is regularly used as a more conventional midfielder, given the bulk of the creative responsibilities for his country.
However, despite having been short on regular midfield options at times, Mikel Arteta has never shown much willingness to uproot Zinchenko from his left-back berth.
As reported by Simon Collings, writing in The Standard, it was Arteta, when he and Zinchenko were both employed by Manchester City, who first urged Pep Guardiola to use the 26-year-old as a defender.
The Spanish coach identified the player’s potential to become an auxiliary midfielder whilst also performing his left-back duties.
The manager’s faith in that notion has not wavered since he paid £32 million to bring the player to the Emirates Stadium in the summer of 2022.
No signs of midfield role at Arsenal coming for Oleksandr Zinchenko
The only time Zinchenko has been seen playing a true midfield role for Arsenal was against Burnley last time out, after Fabio Vieira’s red card forced Arteta into a reshuffle.
Journalist James McNicholas has called for Zinchenko to be given a proper chance to prove his worth in midfield. According to Collings, “Arsenal fans have been crying out” to see the former Manchester City man used in that part of the pitch.
However, Collings insists those supporters are set to remain frustrated, as “his brief cameo there against Burnley, however, is likely to remain just that given that Arteta has shown a reluctance to play him in that position.”
The reasoning behind Arteta’s hesitance is difficult to deduce. Takehiro Tomiyasu has impressed at left-back this season, meaning Zinchenko isn’t needed to start there week in, week out. What’s more, Vieira is now facing a three match ban, Emile Smith Rowe is currently sidelined with injury, and Martin Odegaard has had his own fitness issues in recent weeks.
Now seems like the perfect opportunity to give Zinchenko a go in midfield, as the Gunners are about to face Brentford, Wolves, and Luton Town in their next three Premier League outings. All are sides who Arteta will expect his team to dominate possession against. Zinchenko ought to be able to flourish as a midfielder in the context of those upcoming contests. It seems unlikely that we will see this theory tested, though.
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