Zinchenko must balance risk and reward
Oleksandr Zinchenko’s mixed bag of a performance showed the full-back’s qualities in attack but once more highlighted his defensive deficiencies. While Zinchenko was instrumental in the brilliant team goal scored by Martin Ødegaard that gave Arsenal a 2-0 lead over Wolves, a series of errors culminated with him giving the ball away cheaply to allow Matheus Cunha’s late strike that threatened what could have been a comfortable victory for the league leaders. While Mikel Arteta brushed aside concerns about the 26-year-old, he did admit that “in those areas it’s a big no to play, especially after certain things in the previous phase”. With Kieran Tierney reportedly to be sold in January, Zinchenko appears to be vying with the versatile Takehiro Tomiyasu to start at left-back. Arsenal fans will hope his mistakes do not end up costing them dear. Ed Aarons
