Why 'Arsenal’s Trent Alexander-Arnold' must be dropped for Tierney

Sam McGuire

• 11 Apr 2023 11:00 BST
• 5 min read

In the eyes of many, Oleksandr Zinchenko has been one of the signings of the season. The 26-year-old has been a revelation for Arsenal following his €35 million summer move from Manchester City.

Mikel Arteta starts him at left-back but has him tuck inside to play as an extra central midfielder. His performances have been so impressive that he’s keeping Kieran Tierney out of the team. The 25-year-old Scotland international has been used sparingly this season despite being fit for the majority of the 2022/23 campaign. His last start in the Premier League was in December.

Given Tierney was courted by some of the best clubs in the world while at Celtic and is still believed to be a transfer target for Manchester City, it is quite the achievement by Zinchenko to completely oust the €39m-rated full-back.

READ MORE: Darwin Nunez 'losing patience' at Liverpool

However, his stint in the starting XI might be coming to an abrupt end.

Zinchenko was hauled off at Anfield moments after allowing Trent Alexander-Arnold to nutmeg him. The Liverpool right-back then picked out Roberto Firmino and the hosts had their much-deserved equaliser. The Ukraine international was then pictured on the bench crying. Per multiple reports, he felt responsible for the goal and was emotional as a result.

The pundits on Sky Sports focused on the Arsenal left-back during their post-match analysis.

"I can't get Zinchenko out of my head," Jamie Carragher claimed. "The league title's on the line, you've got to be more aggressive. That can't happen. There's got to be more intensity from Zinchenko. It's almost like he's training and doesn't want the ball to go through his legs."

Roy Keane was just as blunt, saying: "You think about the modern full-back and the obsession is how good they are going forward. I think they have lacked that real pride in defending. Zinchenko had to get down low. It’s all far too easy - especially if you’re going to win titles."

These criticisms are, ironically enough, near identical to the ones levelled at Alexander-Arnold. In many ways, there are parallels between the two players.

For starters, neither are natural full-backs and both have merely adopted that role in the team due to having the profile needed by the manager.

Zinchenko, much like Alexander-Arnold, is brilliant in possession but without it, he needs teammates to paper over the defensive cracks.

The No. 35 played his part in Arsenal’s early dominance on Merseyside. He was stepping up into midfield and helping the Gunners dictate proceedings, with and without the ball. Zinchenko actually finished the match having completed 94% of his passes.

Defensively, though, his numbers aren’t anywhere near as impressive. The former Manchester City man won zero tackles, was dribbled past twice, failed to win his aerial duel and won just two of his six ground duels.

Granted, he isn’t in the team for that reason, but when your team is under the cosh, you do need to step up and chip in. And he didn’t do that for Arsenal against Liverpool.

Alexander-Arnold is often singled out for criticism with the focus being on the perceived lack of effort to get back into a defensive position. The same could be said for Zinchenko. An example of this can be seen below.

Ibrahima Konate puts in a monstrous tackle on Granit Xhaka near the Liverpool right and the Reds spring a counter. The Arsenal left-back had drifted inside, as he usually does, but he is then static with his hand in the air asking for a free-kick following Konate’s tackle on Xhaka. He doesn’t react to the ball spinning the way of Cody Gakpo. He then saunters back towards his own goal as the Dutch forward takes an age in possession before playing a pass to Mohamed Salah.

In his absence, Gabriel has to close down Gakpo and then react to the ball reaching Salah. There was no intensity or desire shown by Zinchenko to get back and help.

This might be by design but this was almost a precursor for what was to come.

The summer signing initially does well to cover Gabriel as a cross comes in but then he bumps into Aaron Ramsdale and is sluggish to react to the ball falling to Salah. He doesn’t look to close him down or retreat to the far post that the Liverpool No11 is definitely going to aim for. He just stands next to the Arsenal keeper and waits.

His lacklustre approach to defending is what caught him out prior to the equaliser. Alexander-Arnold easily beats him near the byline and this time Gabriel wasn’t able to cover for him. If teams start to target that flank as they focus on Liverpool’s right, the Gunners might find themselves with a problem. It might be time for Tierney to get a run of games in the starting XI as Arteta looks to see the season out.