Kevin Campbell lauds Oleksandr Zinchenko after Arsenal’s FA Cup win

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Kevin Campbell has told the Highbury Squad podcast that Oleksandr Zinchenko is so important for Arsenal following his performance off the bench for the Gunners against Oxford United in the FA Cup on Monday.

Arsenal navigated the tricky tie with the League One side. Mohamed Elneny opened the scoring, and Eddie Nketiah bagged a brace for the Premier League leaders in the second-half.

Mikel Arteta’s men took their time to find their feet in the game. Matt Turner was not given a lot to do. But the Gunners were not at their best for the large part of the game.

Campbell lauds Zinchenko after Arsenal win

In fact, for many, the turning point would have been when Arteta introduced both Zinchenko and Granit Xhaka just after the hour-mark.

The pair gave Arsenal more control down their left flank. And that seemed to make a big difference for the visitors at the Kassam Stadium.

And Campbell suggested that Zinchenko deserves enormous credit after Arsenal booked their spot in the fourth round of the competition.

“Zinchenko, I’m telling you guys, he is so good for this team,” he told Highbury Squad. “And Kieran Tierney didn’t have too bad a game. I thought he was alright. I thought the defence was one that was really keeping us in it. But you see when Zinchenko and Xhaka come on, we just start to dominate the ball.”

In previous years, Tierney has been absolutely integral for Arsenal. He is a leader who was one of the only positives when the Gunners were really struggling.

The idea of him not being one of the first names on the team sheet – when fit – was unthinkable in those times.

But Zinchenko appears to be on another level, when you consider what Mikel Arteta wants from his full-backs. There was talk before his arrival about whether he would play as a left-back or central midfielder.

But he almost has the opportunity to do both in one, as he plays in that inverted position. Unfortunately, Tierney is a different kind of player, not as comfortable with that role.

It will come as little surprise that Arsenal managed to go through the gears when Zinchenko came on.