“He had a 3/10 rating last night against WestHam, I can’t tolerate such a player in my club, drop him to the bench or you’ll risk losing your job”- Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke tells Mikel Arteta that he MUST dismiss the £150,000-per-week Arsenal star who was ‘disgraceful’ against WestHam.
Arsenal’s star, who was a 3/10 against West Ham, must lose his starting spot.
Mikel Arteta’s squad had a bad night in the Carabao Cup, with one man in particular sticking out as a terrible performer.
Arsenal had a night to forget on Wednesday evening at the London Stadium, losing 3-1 to West Ham United in the Carabao Cup, denying them a place in the quarter-finals.
Mikel Arteta would have hoped for a similar outcome against Premier League opponents against the Irons after defeating Brentford in the previous round, but that was not the case.
It was far from the reception Declan Rice had hoped for on his return to east London, as the north Londoners were defeated to end their Carabao Cup campaign.
How Arsenal fell short versus West Ham
In a game that started well for Arsenal in terms of possession, things swiftly went sideways as the game drifted away from the visitor’s control as the Irons began to test the defense.
The Gunners won with 71% possession, but their flaws were exposed when the hosts scored three goals from only five shots on goal, according to Sofascore.
Ben White opened the scoring for David Moyes’ side in the first half, burying Jarrod Bowen’s corner beyond the reach of Aaron Ramsdale, who had a testing night in goal on his return.
After the break, Arteta’s team talk clearly failed to inspire his squad, as Mohammed Kudus increased West Ham’s lead in a manner that left Arsenal’s defense blushing.
Bowen scored the Hammers’ third goal around the hour mark, putting the game out of reach for the visitors, before Martin Odegaard netted a consolation goal seconds before time expired.
Arsenal’s night in east London was marred by defensive flaws and a lack of midfield coordination, but one player stood out as the rotten apple.
In numbers, Oleksandr Zinchenko’s game against West Ham
Oleksandr Zinchenko’s performance against West Ham exemplified why Arteta has started Takehiro Tomiyasu ahead of the Ukrainian in recent games, as the 26-year-old struggled defensively.
The full-back, dubbed “weak” by journalist Josh Bunting, was taunted by Kudus for the host’s second goal, closing off a concerning performance from the four-time Premier League winner. Indeed, the defender was caught sleeping on the left flank as the Hammers’ summer addition carefully collected the ball before wrong-footing Zinchenko.
After 57 minutes, Arteta chose to dismiss the £150,000-per-week dud, with Arsenal personality Eduardo Hagn calling his defending “disgraceful.”
The Ukraine international failed to make a good impression in the little time he was on the field, but he left a foul taste in the mouths of those watching with his dismal individual struggles on the left side of defense.
Zinchenko lost 100% of his aerial duels, had a 100% failure rate on his attempted dribbles, and lost possession eight times, exposing his flaws for the Hammers to exploit, according to Sofascore.
With only one ground duel at left-back under his belt, the former Manchester City defender received a drab 3/10 match rating from journalist Charles Watts via Goal, who labeled the 26-year-old as defensively “suspect.”
It was a wake-up call for Arsenal, who are still unbeaten in the Premier League, and for Arteta, who mentioned Zinchenko, whose days as the Gunners’ first-choice left-back may be numbered.
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