Mikel Arteta made some changes to his Arsenal starting XI for the visit of Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday evening, and was forced into another change during the game.
Arsenal have had to cope with a number of injury problems so far this season. Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard remain sidelined, whilst Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney are currently undergoing recovery too.
Riccardo Calafiori picked up a knock against Shakhtar Donetsk, handing Mikel Arteta another fitness issue to worry about.
The Italian defender was hooked from the action with 72 minutes on the clock, and was replaced by Myles Lewis-Skelly.
The Hale End academy starlet slotted in comfortably enough, and it was a huge show of faith from the manager to turn to the teenager, particularly with Oleksandr Zinchenko amongst the substitutes.
- READ MORE: How much Arsenal paid to sign every 2024/25 first-team squad player in the transfer market
Oleksandr Zinchenko’s future at Arsenal in doubt after snub
Zinchenko has struggled for game time this season, having slipped down the pecking order and suffered with fitness issues.
However, the former Manchester City man was named amongst the substitutes in each of the Gunners’ last two games. Whilst he did not make it on to the pitch on either occasion, his inclusion on the bench suggests that he would be fit to play for the club if required.
On this subject, speaking in his press conference ahead of the clash this Shakhtar Donetsk and as quoted by the club’s official website, Arteta said of Zinchenko: “Hopefully he is now fit, we can start to use him and he can start to impact the team in the manner that he can, which is really powerful as well.”
It is perhaps telling then that Arteta felt more comfortable with turning to Lewis-Skelly than he did affording the Ukrainian defender a run out.
Zinchenko’s waning influence at Arsenal
As Calafiori and Jurrien Timber have established themselves at Arsenal, Zinchenko has fallen down the pecking order.
However, the 27-year-old only really has himself to blame. Zinchenko has been deemed a defensive liability previously and has perhaps made too many mistakes to justify a long-term future at the club at this point.
The fact that the £32 million man has seemingly fallen behind Lewis-Skelly in the pecking orders seems to underline the fact he is no longer really needed at Arsenal.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
