Oleksandr Zinchenko has posted on Instagram ‘great to be back’ after he returned to Arsenal training following a calf injury and ahead of his side’s games against FC Zurich and Chelsea this week.
The 25-year-old returns at a very important time for the club because Arsenal will visit Stamford Bridge on Sunday to take on their London rivals Chelsea in a mouthwatering Premier League clash – it remains to be seen if he’ll feature in the dead-rubber encounter against Zurich in the Europa League tonight.
When Zinchenko posted an image of him being back in training, Emile Smith Rowe, who is out of action for the long-term himself, posted in the comments section ‘Say swear’, as Arsenal fans expressed their delight at his return.
WHO PLAYS AT LEFT-BACK?
It wasn’t so long ago that Mikel Arteta was playing Granit Xhaka at left-back because Kieran Tierney was injured and Nuno Tavares was struggling form.
Yet, fast forward to the present and the return of Zinchenko, and the Arsenal boss now has a selection headache on his hands.
More than likely, Zinchenko won’t start because the £32 million star (Sky Sports) will be slowly eased in, but once he is fit, there will be a fair few big names on the bench.
Tierney was on the bench during Arsenal’s 5-0 thumping of Nottingham Forest last time out, with Takehiro Tomiyasu playing in his place, as Ben White continues to thrive at right-back.
Either way, there is now some much-needed depth in the fullback areas, added with consistent performers, which is something that hasn’t been said for a long time.
If Tomiyasu continues to be selected at left-back, then, from a defensive aspect only, the Japan international is the best of the lot.
In terms of controlling a game, coming into the midfield and being that extra man, then Zincheko is your guy, whilst Tierney probably is a bit of both.
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