Arsenal fans were stunned by Oleksandr Zinchenko’s defending 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 fell to late goals from Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins.
Mikel Arteta’s side were unusually poor in defense and conceded three big chances at the Emirates, more than half of what they had conceded in their previous 11 league games.
Several members of the Gunners squad failed to replicate the performances that put them in the driving seat to win their first league title in 20 years. And Zinchenko may have topped that list with a litany of mistakes, one in particular that has caught the attention of his social media followers.
Late into the second half, Villa launched a ball behind the Arsenal defense who had operated in unison to keep their defensive line high. All except the Ukrainian, who had dropped five meters deeper than his teammates to cover Bailey’s run, rather than letting him run into an offside position.
Oleksandr Zinchenko has been harshly criticized by Arsenal fans after their defeat against Aston Villa.
In the clip, Zinchenko can be seen several meters further back than the other Arsenal defenders.
Your browser does not support iframes.
The 27-year-old’s lack of awareness surprised many fans, with some claiming the club has moved on from the former Manchester City defender.
“This is a tough watch,” wrote one user on X, formerly Twitter.
“We’re just over this guy.” Another one started. ‘Our left-back area is everyone’s target, currently we don’t have anyone good enough to play there. It has to be a priority in the summer.
A third said: “If he ever starts a game for Arsenal with a full squad again… it would be ineptitude of the highest order.” Hand over the ball. He doesn’t give us anything with the ball. He’s defended terribly all season.”
Zinchenko’s departure from the Etihad last summer was vital in Arsenal’s transition to a Premier League title-chasing team. The full-back is known for his quality on the ball and Arteta regularly reverses it to create overloads in midfield.
However, not only has his offensive contribution been reduced this season, but his defense has also been lacking.
Villa did not have a chance to score after a mistake by Zinchenko, but he did share some of the blame for the visitors’ first goal, after being trapped in no man’s land on the right before seeing Bailey hit the ball from the area that should have Have done. been parked.
Some Arsenal fans took to social media to criticize the defender’s performance against Unai Emery’s team.
Leon Bailey was in acres of space at the far post and converted a Lucas Digne cross for the first game at the Emirates.
In another case, the defender was relieved to see Youri Tielemans’ shot hit the crossbar and then hit the post after the Belgian claimed possession following a pass from Zinchenko.
Sunday’s result leaves Mikel Arteta’s team two points behind leaders Manchester City with six games left. The team will travel to Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday before a tough trip to Molineux to face Wolves.