- Arsenal missed the chance to return to the top of the Premier League
- The Gunners defense was not at its best on Sunday and conceded several chances
- “He has no excuse for diving!” Will Bukayo Saka learn from his crash in Bayern? Listen to the It’s all Kicking Off podcast
Arsenal fans were left stunned by Oleksandr Zinchenko’s defense during their 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday.
The Gunners missed the chance to return to the top of the Premier League as they suffered late goals from Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins.
Mikel Arteta’s side were uncharacteristically poor defensively and conceded three big chances at the Emirates – more than half the number they had conceded in their previous 11 league matches.
Several members of the Gunners squad failed to repeat the performances that put them in charge of a first league title in two decades. And Zinchenko arguably topped that list with a slew of mistakes, one in particular that has caught the attention of supporters on social media.
Deep into the second half, Villa launched a ball behind Arsenal’s defense, who had operated collectively to maintain their high defensive line. All except the Ukrainian, who had dropped five yards deeper than his teammates to cover Bailey’s run, rather than allowing him to get into an offside position.
Oleksandr Zinchenko has come under heavy criticism from Arsenal fans following their defeat to Aston Villa
In the video, Zinchenko can be seen several meters deeper than the other Arsenal defenders
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The 27-year-old’s lack of awareness has shocked many fans, with some claiming the club has outgrown the former Manchester City defender.
“This is a cool watch,” wrote one user on X, formerly Twitter.
“We just passed this guy by.” Started another one. “Our left-back area is a target for everyone, at the moment we don’t have anyone good enough to play there. should be a priority in the summer.
A third said: ‘If he ever starts a match for Arsenal with a full squad again… That is incompetence of the highest order. Gives the ball away. Gives us nothing with the ball. Has played terrible defense all season.”
Zinchenko’s move from the Etihad last summer was crucial in Arsenal’s transition to a Premier League title chaser. The full-back is known for his quality on the ball and is regularly substituted by Arteta to create overload in the center of the pitch.
However, not only has his attacking contribution diminished this season, but his defense has also left much to be desired.
Villa failed to create a goal-scoring opportunity due to Zinchenko’s lapse in concentration, but he did share some of the blame for the visitor’s opener after being caught in no man’s land on the right before seeing Bailey tap the ball in from the area he should have had. been stationed.
Some Arsenal fans took to social media to criticize the defender’s performance against Unai Emery’s side
Leon Bailey had plenty of space at the far post and turned in Lucas Digne’s cross for the opener at the Emirates
In another instance, the full-back was relieved to see Youri Tielemans’ cannon hit the crossbar and then the post after the Belgian claimed possession through Zinchenko’s giveaway.
Sunday’s result leaves Mikel Arteta’s side two points behind leaders Manchester City with six games left to play. The team travels to Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday, before a tricky trip to Molineux to take on Wolves.