Arsenal’s owner, Stan Kroenke, expressed his dissatisfaction with a particular Arsenal player who received a 3/10 rating in the recent match against West Ham in the Carabao Cup. Kroenke warned Arsenal’s manager, Mikel Arteta, that he couldn’t tolerate such poor performances and urged him to bench the player or risk losing his job.
Arsenal’s night against West Ham was a forgettable one. The team, which had previously defeated Brentford in the Carabao Cup, was hoping for a similar outcome against Premier League opposition. However, the match took a turn for the worse. Despite dominating possession with 71%, Arsenal struggled to defend against West Ham, who managed to score three goals from just five shots on target.
One of the key moments that highlighted Arsenal’s defensive struggles was when Ben White opened the scoring for West Ham from a corner. Aaron Ramsdale, Arsenal’s goalkeeper, had a challenging night as he was unable to prevent White’s goal. After the halftime break, Mohammed Kudus extended West Ham’s lead, leaving Arsenal’s defense in disarray. Jarrod Bowen added a third goal for West Ham, effectively sealing the game, before Martin Odegaard scored a consolation goal for Arsenal.
In this disappointing performance, one player stood out for all the wrong reasons – Oleksandr Zinchenko. Zinchenko’s performance exemplified why Mikel Arteta had recently preferred to field Takehiro Tomiyasu instead of the Ukrainian. Journalists and commentators criticized Zinchenko for being “weak” and defensively suspect. Kudus even taunted him during the match, highlighting his struggles.
Zinchenko’s struggles were further evident in the statistics. He lost 100% of his aerial duels and had a 100% failure rate for his attempted dribbles. He also lost possession eight times, exposing his weaknesses and providing opportunities for West Ham. His overall performance was rated a dismal 3/10 by journalist Charles Watts, who labeled him as defensively “suspect.”
Mikel Arteta decided to substitute Zinchenko after 57 minutes, recognizing the Ukrainian’s abysmal performance. Zinchenko’s time on the field did not leave a positive impact and left fans and pundits dismayed by his individual struggles on the left side of defense.
This poor showing by Zinchenko raised questions about his future as Arsenal’s first-choice left-back. The player, who was earning a substantial £150,000 per week, failed to deliver on the pitch. Stan Kroenke’s warning to Arteta was a clear indication of the owner’s expectations and his intolerance for underperforming players.