Stephen Warnock has questioned why Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta decided against starting Oleksandr Zinchenko against Newcastle on Saturday.
Warnock has been speaking on Sky Sports and he feels Zinchenko would have given Arsenal more control in the game.
Mikel Arteta was left furious after Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at St James’ Park due to a controversial Anthony Gordon winner.
The Spaniard labelled the decision to award Gordon’s goal a ‘disgrace’ but despite the fallout after the game, Arsenal weren’t at their best on the day.
Indeed, the Gunners struggled to break down a resilient Newcastle side and lacked creativity without the likes of Martin Odegaard and Oleksandr Zinchenko in the side.
And while Odegaard was ruled out with an injury, Arteta opted to play Takehiro Tomiyasu over Zinchenko.
Now, Stephen Warnock has questioned Arteta’s decision to drop the Ukrainian.
Warnock questions Arteta’s Zinchenko decision
Speaking on Sky Sports, Warnock suggested Arteta may have opted for Tomiyasu due to playing Jorginho in midfield.
“I think it was very interesting at the weekend why Zinchenko didn’t start,” the pundit said. “Was that a knock-on effect that Jorginho is in there so he doesn’t have the pace to then drop into the left-back position and cover?
“When Zinchenko plays, he dominates the ball in midfield and he’s very brave with getting on the ball and that’s where they dictate the pace of play.”
Zinchenko hasn’t been at his best this season and Tomiyasu has put in some impressive displays of late.
While Zinchenko would have provided Arsenal with an extra man in the middle of the park, it’s easy to understand why Arteta left the £32 million man out of the starting XI.
Tomiyasu provides the Gunners with more stability defensively and that was high on Arteta’s priority list ahead of a difficult trip to St James’ Park.
Nevertheless, Arsenal do look more fluid on the ball when Zinchenko is on the pitch and that is where they were lacking on Saturday.