Chris Sutton suggests £32m Arsenal player is too weak, looks really small in real life

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Pundit Chris Sutton has suggested that Arsenal defender Oleksandr Zinchenko isn’t strong enough.

Sutton was speaking on the Monday Night Club after Arsenal’s disastrous defeat to Brighton on Sunday.

After a tense first half, Brighton put Arsenal to the sword with three well-taken goals.

They capitalised on mistakes from the home side but deservedly came away from The Emirates with three points.

Mikel Arteta was without first-choice defenders William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko at the weekend.

There’s been an obvious drop-off since the Frenchman picked up an injury against Sporting in the Europa League.

Jakub Kiwior was caught out against Brighton, while Kieran Tierney was drafted in to replace Zinchenko.

The Scot had a tough time against Julio Enciso and Kaoru Mitoma, as did Ben White on the opposite flank,

However, Sutton’s not sure Zinchenko would have done much better had he lined up for Arsenal on Sunday.

He’s not sure the Ukrainian is strong enough compared to his teammates.

Sutton thinks Arsenal star Zinchenko is too weak

Charlie Adam and Chris Sutton were discussing the Arsenal squad, and Adam said: “If you look at the power and the pace that Man City have all over the pitch, not even Arsenal [can match it].

“Ben White, [William] Saliba, Gabriel [Magalhaes], [Kieran] Tierney, [Oleksandr] Zinchenko, physically they’re very, very good.

Sutton disagreed and replied: “Not sure Zinchenko is. Have you seen him in the flesh close up? He’s quite small.”

What the £32m defender lacks in stature, he makes up for in technical prowess.

His ability to drift into midfield when Arsenal have the ball has revolutionised Mikel Arteta’s set-up.

Zinchenko is fantastic going forward, but there are question marks over his one-on-one defending.

Sutton’s admission that he doesn’t think Zinchenko is strong enough hasn’t harmed Arsenal too much this season.

With the Gunners happy to let Kieran Tierney go in the summer, Arteta clearly isn’t worried about his strength.