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Sky Sports pundit Jay Bothroyd has slammed Oleksandr Zinchenko for his poor performance in Arsenal's 2-0 loss against West Ham United on Thursday (December 28).
The Ukraine international started for the Gunners and was part of the mix-up from Emerson's cross that led to Tomas Soucek's 13th-minute opener. He then lost former Arsenal star Konstantinos Mavropanos, who scored the Hammers' second from a corner situation.
Zinchenko failed to deliver an accurate cross and lost possession eight times. He won three of his five aerial duels, one of his five ground duels and was dribbled past twice.
Addressing the ex-Manchester City star's performance, Bothroyd told Sky Sports News (via The Boot Room):
“Zinchenko. I think he’s a top player but he was awful. He was defending poorly, didn’t create anything, didn’t get on the ball."
Despite this performance, the 27-year-old is an integral part of Mikel Arteta's side. Performing the inverted left-back role, he's made 24 appearances across competitions, bagging a goal and an assist.
After this result, Arsenal are placed second in the Premier League standings, with 40 points, two behind leaders Liverpool. Up next for the Gunners is a trip to Craven Cottage to face Fulham (December 31), who are 13th with 21 points.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta reacts to his forwards not scoring in West Ham defeat
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was asked if his players lacked confidence in front of goal during their defeat to West Ham. The north Londoners attempted 30 shots, out of which eight found the target.
They enjoyed 75% possession and managed 77 touches inside the West Ham penalty area, the highest recorded for a side that failed to score in the Premier League (via MSN). Bukayo Saka also struck the upright from close range in the 42nd minute.
Addressing his side's supposed lack of confidence in front of goal, Arteta said post-match (via club's official website):
"I don’t think it’s that. You hit the post, or you hit the ball and it’s half a centimetre and you have I don’t know how many shots or someone blocks the shot and it doesn’t come in.
"We miss a lot of situations when we have to pick the right pass, there are two players free in the box and I can recall five, six actions of that and that’s what makes the difference to win the games."
Arsenal have recorded the fewest goals for a side in the top five this Premier League campaign (36). This result marked the Gunners' ninth loss to West Ham in 55 Premier League meetings.
