One Arsenal player failed to impress as the Gunners earned a vital 2-0 Premier League win over Luton Town on Wednesday evening.
Mikel Arteta was able to ring the changes as Arsenal welcomed Luton Town to the Emirates Stadium.
Five players stepped into the starting XI for this fixture, as Oleksandr Zinchenko, Thomas Partey, Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson, and Leandro Troassard were all named in the side.
Whilst Smith Rowe caught the eye of Arsenal fans, and also impressed ex-winger Theo Walcott, Zinchenko struggled to make a positive impression.
Since making his recovery from injury, the Ukrainian left-back has been kept out of the team by Jakub Kiwior. Whilst the Poland international is a centre-back by trade, he has impressed in the full-back role in recent weeks, and his physicality and aerial prowess certainly help to the make the Gunners’ rearguard an altogether more imposing unit.
Where Oleksandr Zinchenko now stands at Arsenal
Zinchenko has already been warned that Kiwior may have usurped him in the pecking order, but the £32 million former Manchester City man had an opportunity against the Hatters to remind Arteta of his quality.
However, the 27-year-old defender could not produce his best against the Premier League strugglers.
Whilst Zinchenko has always been something of a defensive liability, he has previously made up for this with his prowess on the ball. He excels in performing the left-back role in an inverted fashion, meaning that he habitually drifts into the middle of the park and acts as an auxiliary playmaker of sorts.
At his best, he is able to help Arsenal to dominate possession and territory, and he has the craft, vision, and passing ability to carve out opportunities for his teammates in the final third.
Why Oleksandr Zinchenko failed to impress Mikel Arteta v Luton Town
Against Luton, though, Zinchenko even struggled to shine when in possession. As per Sofascore statistics, the 60-cap Ukraine international gave the ball away 11 times, and in dangerous positions on more than one occasion.
He could also only complete 83% of his passes, and did not attempt a single dribble to progress his team up the pitch.
In truth, given how important it is for Arsenal to remain solid at the back and avoid dropping points over the course of the run-in, Zinchenko was always unlikely to re-establish himself as the clear first-choice starting left-back in what is left of this season. Putting that aside, though, Arteta certainly won’t feel that he put in a particularly strong claim for more regular minutes going forward.