‘Many, many times’… Pundit says £30m Arsenal player gets caught on the ball too often

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Robbie Mustoe has given his verdict on Arsenal and Ukraine international star Oleksandr Zinchenko.

The former Middlesbrough defensive midfielder has outlined a flaw in Zinchenko’s game.

So, what has Robbie Mustoe said about Arsenal star Oleksandr Zinchenko? Let’s take a look.

Criticism of Arsenal player Oleksandr Zinchenko

Well, Arsenal won 2-1 against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League this past weekend.

The Gunners, who will face Luton Town in the Premier League on Tuesday evening, are now at the top of the league table.

Oleksandr Zinchenko provided the assist for the second goal that Arsenal scored. It was a wonderful team effort that was finished off by Norway international attacking midfielder Martin Odegaard, who had a good game overall.

Zinchenko was defensively weak in the match. The £30 million (Sky Sports) star was caught out for the goal that Matheus Cunha scored. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta criticised the former Manchester City player after the game.

Zinchenko started at left for Arsenal, but, as usual with the way Arteta plays his football, the Ukraine international often drifted into midfield.

Middlesbrough defensive midfielder and pundit Robbie Mustoe was not impressed with Zinchenko and has noted a problem in his game.

Mustoe told The 2 Robbies Podcast: “Zinchenko, great footballer, but there are many, many times I feel like he just gets caught doing something, tries to force a ball in.

“He’s a little bit casual on the ball, did Arsenal get a little bit casual? Do I want perfection or closer to it, yeah probably, but it ended up being a bit nervy.

“It wasn’t hanging on but it wasn’t as comfortable as what the performance deserved, particularly in the first half an hour with some of that lovely, creative, penetrating football that was like, that was it, that’s kind of what we enjoyed last year.”

Oleksandr Zinchenko needs to do better defensively

In my view, Oleksandr Zinchenko has to do better at left-back. Yes, we know that the former Manchester City player is brilliant at the way he moves into midfield, but he starts matches at left-back.

Just like England international right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold at Liverpool, Zinchenko needs to focus first and foremost on his defending. True, the 26-year-old has made Arsenal a better and more intricate team going on the attack, but defensively he does need to improve.

Zinchenko has made 116 appearances in the Premier League so far in his career. The Ukraine international has scored two goals, given 10 assists, and kept 33 clean sheets in those games.