There’s an outdated adage that the star that burns twice as brilliant burns for half as lengthy. That is an analogy typically used for artists and musicians who die younger resulting from their very own excesses. Or generally musical phenomena that fizzles out rapidly, the Intercourse Pistols solely ever recorded one LP however their cultural impression was directly vastly vital however very punctuated.
Within the soccer sense, perhaps a participant like Ronaldinho greatest encapsulates this adage. Between the ages of twenty-two and 26, his completely unrefined type of soccer expressionism made him probably the most fascinating participant on the planet. However finally an absence of general skilled self-discipline meant that his peak was as sensible because it was temporary.
Whereas I wouldn’t want to straight examine Oleksandr Zinchenko to the Intercourse Pistols or Ronaldinho, the curve of his Arsenal profession has demonstrated an identical trajectory outlined by a steep incline and an nearly instantaneous decline. When Zinchenko was signed in the summertime of 2022 and he was very a lot Plan B for Arsenal in his place.
We’ve got ceaselessly seen the Arteta / Edu iteration of Arsenal prepared to pivot to different targets when Plan A was not actionable. Not permitting the proper to be the enemy of the great has been the strapline for the membership’s switch technique. Arsenal initially needed Lisandro Martinez, who opted to go to Manchester United (speak about being a poor decide of character) from Ajax earlier than ripping open the envelope marked ‘Plan B’ to signal Zinchenko.
It was seemingly an expedient signing. Zinchenko had one yr left on his Metropolis contract, on the time João Cancelo, whose Metropolis profession finally took the identical sharp incline adopted by sharp decline trajectory we’ve seen from Zinchenko, was one in all Metropolis’s star gamers. Arteta knew the participant and had sufficient good will from his former employers to have the ability to gently prize Gabriel Jesus and Zinchenko away from them. His contractual scenario made the asking value affordable.
There’s a small irony in the truth that each gamers, who initially reworked the workforce tactically, have each fallen drastically down the pecking order. The truth that Arteta knew Zinchenko so nicely from his time at Metropolis however nonetheless most popular Lisandro Martinez means that Arteta knew the participant nicely sufficient to anticipate a few of his flaws.
Initially, the tactic of inverting Zinchenko into midfield alongside Thomas Partey took groups unexpectedly and enabled Arsenal to strangle groups and dominate them by way of possession. Over time, groups adjusted to the tactic and never solely that, they started to focus on the left-back space Zinchenko typically vacated. Zinchenko’s historical past isn’t one in all a defender however of a midfielder requested to play in defence.
In hindsight, that all the time made him a reasonably uncommon match when you think about the opposite defenders Arteta has purchased. Ben White, Gabriel, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori are all technically robust and able to taking part in the ball in additional superior areas. Nevertheless, they’re all defenders before everything. And secondly, they’re all considerably extra bodily than Zinchenko. Martinez, although slight when it comes to top, is definitely a extra bodily participant (bordering on violent plenty of the time).
However whereas, for instance, Arsenal have taken a beat within the striker market and judged that Havertz and Jesus can fill that function for now till the Goldilocks striker comes alongside, Arteta seemingly felt he didn’t have that luxurious in the summertime of 2022 resulting from Kieran Tierney’s health report. Arsenal completed the 2021-22 season with Nuno Tavares or Granit Xhaka at left-back and that was not an answer that would endure.
In hindsight, I believe we are able to in all probability say that Zinchenko was seemingly all the time thought of a short-term signing. Jurrien Timber was added in the summertime of 2023 and Riccardo Calafiori in 2024, with Jakub Kiwior additionally thrown into the combination in January 2023. Additionally they prolonged Takehiro Tomiyasu’s contract final yr. Just about each sign infers that Arteta by no means supposed to depend on Zinchenko for the lengthy haul.
The participant has had a spotty health report, which he additionally had at Manchester Metropolis (in all probability one other consider him not being prime of the buying record when Arsenal purchased him). More and more, the spectrum between ‘superior midfield ball management’ and ‘large area at left-back’ has settled on the improper finish so far as Arteta is worried. The ultimate straw for Arteta appears to have been the Aston Villa sport in April, when even relative Zinchenko apologists like me had been pushed to distraction by his errant strategy.
I’m a Zinchenko man however that was a completely silly threat in an space with little or no upside. Fortunate boy.
— Tim Stillman (@Stillmanator) April 14, 2024
As Lewis Ambrose famous, Zinchenko has been a peripheral determine ever since. It took Arsenal till 6 August to substantiate that he had modified his squad quantity to 17, the quantity Cedric vacated. Cedric’s summer season 2024 departure and trip of that quantity has been anticipated for the reason that day after he signed a everlasting contract with Arsenal in the summertime of 2020. If it took till 6 August to substantiate it’s nearly definitely as a result of Arsenal’s choice was for a summer season sale. The signing of Riccardo Calafiori additionally tells you that Arteta had no intention of relying on Zinchenko as an possibility this season.
Yep, and Villa was a last straw: since then he’s began as soon as in PL/CL, solely made 5 sub appearances and been an unused sub 10 occasions. Arteta is finished with him.
— Lewis (@lgambrose.bsky.social) 20 November 2024 at 11:16
Many followers have criticised Zinchenko as a result of they understand him to endure from ‘major character syndrome.’ Undeniably, you need to be a giant character to take the (often essential) dangers he takes with the ball and together with his positioning. If you wish to be a dominant workforce, your defenders can’t all the time be perched on the sting of their penalty space. Saliba and Gabriel will not be cautious with their positioning. When Arsenal are at their greatest, these two are on the sting of the opposition space.
However once more, I believe it’s truthful to say that the dimensions between bravery and recklessness skewed too far into the latter class. When he tried to type a huddle after Arsenal went 2-0 all the way down to Southampton in April 2023, it strayed a little bit too far into the William Gallas faculty of performative management.
His determination to publish and promote a e book that appear to disclose plenty of Arteta’s BTS techniques appears indiscrete at greatest. Even viewing Arteta from afar, he doesn’t precisely strike me as the kind of man that can contemplate Zinchenko’s imprudence flippantly. I guess he’s completely fucking livid and it simply strikes me as a reasonably reckless factor to do, all thought of.
Until there’s a vital harm disaster at left-back (which we definitely can not rule out), I might be enormously shocked if Zinchenko’s function now extends a lot past peeling the half-time oranges. He has already been changed (a number of occasions over in fact) however his wage might be going to be an impediment in transferring him on completely.
I think about that is going to be one other ‘a few mortgage offers earlier than contract expiry’ eventualities however there needn’t be an enormous gnashing of enamel over that in my opinion. No firm, or soccer squad, is 100% environment friendly and Zinchenko had a use for some time not less than. His presence didn’t preclude Arsenal from changing him earlier than his Arsenal race was run. I believe the reveal all e book will see him transfer from ‘dispensable participant we’re eager to promote’ to ‘the yellow bib’, nevertheless.