‘Cursed’ or learning ‘the dark arts’? – Arsenal fans react to Zinchenko injury

Robin Bairner

• 16 Sept 2022 09:12 BST
• 5 min read

Arsenal full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko is set to miss a couple of weeks because of a calf injury.

The Ukraine international only arrived in the summer, but after missing successive fixtures against Fulham and Aston Villa because of a physical glitch at the end of August, it has fans concerned over his ability to stay fit.

Zinchenko’s injury record is certainly a patchy one, and it does not reflect positively on the 25-year-old that he has now sustained a couple of issues just a couple of months after arriving at the club.

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A statement from the Ukrainian FA confirmed: “The Arsenal player suffered a calf muscle injury during training at the club, which will require about two weeks for treatment and recovery. Oleksandr immediately personally informed the head coach of the Ukrainian national team, Oleksandr Petrakov, of the unfortunate news by calling him. We wish Sashka a speedy recovery”

It was hoped that Zinchenko would provide a sense of stability at left-back, where Kieran Tierney has been notoriously prone to injury problems since arriving from Celtic.

Arsenal fans, though, are fearful that lightning has struck twice with regards them signing a high-quality left-back who simply cannot get on the field because his body has let him down.

’Arteta has learned the dark arts’

Some fans, though, are choosing to see Zinchenko’s latest setback in a positive light, even suggesting that manager Mikel Arteta could be playing the problem up.

Zinchenko will miss Arsenal's Premier League fixture with Brentford but could be back for the north London derby with Tottenham on 1 October.