‘He let us down’: Jamie Carragher blasts 26-year-old Arsenal player, says Arteta doesn’t fully trust him
Jamie Carragher has criticised the performance of Arsenal star Oleksandr Zinchenko in the 2-2 draw against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
The Gunners started the game brilliantly. They completely dominated Liverpool and deservedly went 2-0 up. The hosts then flipped the game on its head with a brilliant performance and secured a point thanks to goals from Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino.
Zinchenko played a big part in Liverpool’s equaliser.
Jamie Carragher criticises Arsenal star Oleksandr Zinchenko’s defending
A point at Anfield is never really a bad result, but Arsenal fans are still disappointed.
After going 2-0 up in the game, the Gunners really should’ve managed it better, but Liverpool were all over them in the second half and were unlucky not to win the game in the end
However, many are wondering what really would’ve happened if Zinchenko stopped Trent Alexander-Arnold from crossing the ball that led to Firmino’s goal in the 87th minute.
Carragher had a go at the Ukrainian and even went on to say that Mikel Arteta doesn’t fully trust him.
He told Sky Sports after the game, as quoted by The Metro: “We’ve raved about Zinchenko this season and he was brilliant today until Liverpool got the equaliser.
“He’s brilliant on the ball but lets them down defensively at the last minute. If Arsenal go back to being a team fighting for the top four, that will be exposed a lot more. It happened in the first game of the season at Crystal Palace where Mikel Arteta brought Tierney on for Zinchenko and it happened again today because he’s not trusted 100 per cent defensively.
“I can’t get Zinchenko out of my head. You need to be more aggressive – the league title is on the line! That can’t happen. It’s almost like he’s in training, there’s got to be more intensity from him.”
Our View:
Zinchenko was unlucky with what happened at the end of the game, but to say Arteta does not fully trust him is a bit over the top.
The Ukrainian has been one of Arsenal’s best players this season. He has been unbelievable and he’s one of the biggest reasons why the Gunners are on top of the Premier League table.
Kieran Tierney is definitely a better defender than Zinchenko, but the 26-year-old Ukrainian brings so much more to the game than just being left-back, and that makes him undroppable.
Arsenal take on West Ham United next and Zinchenko is expected to start again. He’d love nothing more than to make amends for his mistake last weekend.
