Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been told to give Oleksandr Zinchenko a chance to play in midfield going forward.
Speaking on the Handbrake Off Podcast, pundit Adrian Clarke was discussing the Ukrainian international.
The 26-year-old didn’t have his best match against Lens, getting caught out for the French side’s second goal.
Oleksandr Zinchenko is a unique player in the Arsenal squad right now.
No other player in the team is capable of inverting from left-back to play in the centre of the pitch.
It makes him incredibly important to Mikel Arteta’s system but can leave him exposed in defensive situations.
He was immediately substituted when Arsenal went 2-1 down, with Ben White brought on in his place.
Clarke has now suggested that Arteta should instead play Zinchenko in midfield rather than bringing him off when Arsenal are chasing a match.
Incredibly, despite ending up alongside Declan Rice in the middle of the pitch a lot, Zinchenko has started every match while at Arsenal at left-back.
Removing that extra defensive responsibility and playing him in Kai Havertz’s role as he does for Ukraine could get the best out of him.
Arsenal urged to play Zinchenko in midfield
Speaking about the 26-year-old, Clarke said: “In those situations where Mikel [Arteta] doesn’t feel that [Oleksandr] Zinchenko is offering enough defensively, rather than taking him off, I’d rather put him into that left-sided number eight role and keep him on.
“He’s got that progressive pass in him, he’s an unlocker of defences.
“Rather than always take him off when he’s struggling defensively, could we then use him just in a further forward position as that left-sided number eight?
“The bottom line is he’s the one that’s more likely to play that killer pass in the final 15, 20 minutes of a game than anyone else.
“It’s just an idea to throw out there.”
Zinchenko has struggled to put a long run of games together for Arsenal due to injury problems and even on Tuesday he looked tired.
Loaning out Kieran Tierney has left Arsenal short of one option they could use if Arteta were to move Zinchenko into midfield.
However, Takehiro Tomiyasu is an able deputy while Jakub Kiwior can do a job there too.
Arteta isn’t short of options in any position right now, but getting the combination right is proving more difficult.
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