Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has confirmed that defender Oleksandr Zinchenko is suffering with an injury amid his decision to start Takehiro Tomiyasu at left-back. The decision to start the Japan international - who usually plays at right-back - raised plenty of questions before the game.
While Zinchenko is injured, natural left-back Kieran Tierney was benched by Arteta for the game, with Tomiyasu facing off against the dangerous Mohamed Salah. However, it isn't something that the manager has done on a whim, having previously discussed his ability to play several positions.
"Tomi has been playing left centre back for his national team Japan. When you look at the games, he can play as a left back too, because you cannot tell me if he’s a left or right-footed player," said Arteta.
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