Pundit says Arsenal have a £35m player who is an ‘absolute liability’

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Oleksandr Zinchenko is something of a marmite footballer at Arsenal.

The Ukrainian is undoubtedly a very talented player, but, at the same time, he may not be a left-back.

Indeed, as good as Zinchenko is, he’s not the most defensively solid player in the world, and speaking on the Handbrake Off Podcast, Adrian Clarke has been sharing his verdict on the £35m man.

Clarke says that he’s really conflicted about Zinchenko’s role in this team, claiming that he offers loads in terms of creativity when Arsenal are in possession, but he’s an utter liability when he’s forced to defend.

Zinchenko can be a liability

Clarke shared his verdict on the defender.

“I’m completely conflicted and this is why managers like Mikel Arteta get paid the big bucks. It’s like Trent Alexander-Arnold at Liverpool. He offers so much in the quality of his deliveries and his set-pieces, but he’s an absolute liability,” Clarke said.

“I think there are positives with the calmness he brings, you have to accept it. Someone who is so calm and handles the ball so well will sometimes get caught. For Liverpool away, I would probably leave him out, but not Villa.”

Find a balance

Clarke is absolutely right, Zinchenko is a player who can offer a lot, but he’s also a problem at times.

Mikel Arteta needs to find the right balance here, and his best bet may be to rotate Zinchenko.

In games where Arsenal expect to dominate, use him as that inverted full-back and get him on the ball, but against top teams with talented wingers, use a more traditional defender such as Takehiro Tomiyasu in that full-back role and shore things up a bit more at the back.

Zinchenko can be an important player for Arsenal, but he can also be a problem.