Oleksandr Zinchenko's participation for Arsenal against Brentford is unclear following a rather cryptic update from Mikel Arteta.
Now, on Friday morning the Gunners' preparations for Sunday's London derby was rocked with the news that the £32m summer signing would miss the game with a calf muscle injury which is also the reason he's not been selected by Ukraine for their Nations League matches against Scotland and Armenia.
"The midfielder of the national team Oleksandr Zinchenko, unfortunately, will not be able to help the blue-yellow during the September matches UEFA Nations League 2022/2023," a statement via their official website reads.
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"The player of the London side "Arsenal" suffered a calf muscle injury during training at the club, which will require about two weeks for treatment and recovery. Oleksandr immediately personally informed the head coach of the Ukrainian national team, Oleksandr Petrakov, of the unfortunate news by calling him."
Taking this statement into consideration, many could safely assume that a two-week lay-off confirms Zinchenko's absence for Arsenal at Brentford leaving the 25-year-old in a race against time to be fit for the North London Derby against Tottenham Hotspur after the international break.
However, when pressed to deliver a definitive update on Zinchenko's availability, Arteta did not give anything away: "Again, we have to wait until tomorrow to make that decision. Where he was at that moment and what we have decided to do for the international week doesn’t mean that we will decide the same for the weekend. So it’s something we will address tomorrow."
If Zinchenko does indeed miss out because of injury, Kieran Tierney is a more than capable replacement at left-back and based on previous team selections this season, he would likely get the nod over Takehiro Tomiyasu to make a return to the Premier League starting line-up after being named amongst the substitutes against Manchester United last time out.
With that said, whilst Tierney could step up from the bench, Zinchenko would still need to be replaced in the 20-man matchday squad and as Cedric Soares is a doubt, it means defensive cover at the Brentford Community Stadium could come in the shape of Rob Holding and Tomiyasu.
As neither are natural left-backs, Arteta could call up 17-year-old Lino Sousa. The youngster, who is regarded as one of the most highly rated left-backs in England, arrived in North London during the January transfer window and, in a short space of time, has already broken into the under-23 side and trained with the senior team.
His inclusion in the Germany pre-season training camp proves he has already caught Arteta's eye at his tender years and the fact he didn't feature for the U21s in their clash against Wolves on Saturday may indicate he's in line to make the senior squad against Brentford.
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