Arsenal dropped points for the second time in the Premier League this season. Mikel Arteta’s side were unable to find a winner in a 1-1 draw against Southampton.
It is the first time that the north London side have dropped points since the start of September when the Gunners had lost 3-1 at Old Trafford to rivals Manchester United. Despite this, Arsenal still sit at the top of the league.
The match against Southampton was the first time that Oleksandr Zinchenko’s absence from the side was clear. Arsenal lacked the cutting edge in the final third, and the Ukrainian had been offering extra creativity from deep earlier in the season.
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Arsenal were on the hunt for a new left-back ahead of the Premier League campaign in the summer transfer window. It was an area of weakness last season, and Edu had to solve the issue in the transfer market.
He did this by signing Zinchenko from Manchester City for a reported £30million fee. The Ukrainian has been exceptional since coming into Arteta's side, however, there has been a concerning issue with his injury problems. After missing back-to-back games earlier in the season against Fulham and Aston Villa, the new signing had also suffered another injury going into the September international break and has only started one match since.
Despite Zinchenko starting at left-back in Arsenal's 3-1 victory over Spurs, he has been absent for the Gunners' last five fixtures against due to a calf injury. Zinchenko had featured in every Premier League match for the Gunners since making the transfer switch from Manchester City until he was ruled out with an injury against Fulham in Arsenal's fourth game of the season.
But in Zinchenko's absence, Tierney had slotted into the left-back role and had proven to be a useful alternative as the Gunners sat at the top of the Premier League.
Takehiro Tomiyasu has also put himself into the mix, as in the last three Premier League games, the Japanese international had started as a left-back. With Arsenal playing against teams such as Liverpool and Leeds, who are dangerous on the wings, having a more defensive-minded player in Tomiyasu at left-back worked.
However, this was not the case for Southampton as the Saints didn't utilize the wings meaning there was space for a more attacking-minded player to start at full-back. Arsenal benefited from this down the right-hand side as Ben White was the provider for Granit Xhaka, who opened the scoring.
But, Tomiyasu offered little when going forward, and it showed that this fixture would have been perfect for Zinchenko. In the early weeks of the season, The Ukrainian played a major part in Arsenal's build-up play as he would join the midfield to increase the options when on the attack.
This was missed against Southampton, as not only did the home side populate the middle of the park, but Arsenal lacked a cutting edge in front of goal. Having an additional option to create more chances certainly would have been beneficial, and Zinchenko would have been able to offer that.
The Ukrainian's inclusion in the team could have been key to a different result. But, the Gunners remain at the top of the league and have a great chance against the bottom of the league side, Nottingham Forest, to get back to winning ways as Zinchenko continues his recovery.
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