With Arsenal’s adventures in Europe taking priority at the back end of the season, Mikel Arteta has used the last two Premier League games as opportunities to rotate his side.
The title will not be heading in the direction of the Emirates Stadium this season and the manager has clearly realised that too, opting to give his biggest stars some time off with that crunch tie with Real Madrid in mind.
Despite drawing 1-1 with Everton a week ago, that strategy certainly paid off in midweek after that remarkable victory over Real Madrid.
After two appearances as a sub, Bukayo Saka looked revitalised. His return to club action has been managed well.
That said, the club’s league form does leave much to be desired, winning two of their last seven league fixtures. It’s hardly a surprise the title is now but a dream.
So, with another 1-1 draw with Brentford this weekend amid more rotation, those on the fringes didn’t do a whole lot to stake their claim for more regular starts.
Arsenal's biggest underperformers against Brentford
It’s safe to say that Arsenal’s draw with Brentford was rather more sedate than the rip-roaring success of Tuesday night against Madrid.
That was summed up by the sheer number of changes to the Gunners’ teamsheet. In came the likes of Leandro Trossard, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Kieran Tierney and Ethan Nwaneri, while goalscorer Thomas Partey started at right-back.
Nwaneri wasn’t able to dazzle as we know he so often can, but it wasn’t a bad performance. Tierney lasted just over an hour, scoring a memorable disallowed goal in the process, and coped well with the threat of Bees talisman Bryan Mbeumo.
However, as for Zinchenko and Trossard, they really did disappoint.
The latter did his best to get on the ball and create opportunities but he lacked goal threat and proved why Arteta has favoured Mikel Merino in that central striker berth since Kai Havertz’s injury.
Trossard did find the net against Everton a week ago but that marked his first league goal since the north London derby back in January.
Trossard had just five touches in the box on Saturday, far fewer than Gabriel Martinelli’s 11, with his display summed up well by GOAL who noted that it was another ‘ineffective display’, hence his 5/10 match rating.
Still, at least he wasn’t as ineffective as Zinchenko.
Zinchenko's performance in numbers vs Brentford
This has been a challenging and difficult season for the Ukrainian who hasn’t earned much game time at all.
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Indeed, the 28-year-old has only actually played 11 times in the Premier League despite being in the squad on 25 occasions. He’s only started three league games too.
That’s hardly a surprise really when you consider Riccardo Calafiori’s arrival last summer and the emergence of Hale End superstar Myles Lewis-Skelly.
As a result, Zinchenko’s last two appearances have actually come in midfield. He starred in that position against PSV in the Champions League, starting in the Odegaard role and scoring a brilliant long-range effort in the first half.
While he dominated against the Dutch side, his influence was poor against Brentford. His display was rather summed up by a succession of first-half corners that he and Nwaneri wasted down the right.
Insistent on playing things short, the ball was played into Zinchenko who ultimately failed to really take control of the situation on more than one occasion.
His lack of influence was summed up by the fact that his touch count of 36 was nine fewer than goalkeeper David Raya’s tally. Grim reading indeed.
To make matters worse, the former Manchester City star failed to provide a key pass, register a cross or complete a dribble.
Minutes played
62
Touches
36
Accurate passes
26/29 (90%)
Key passes
0
Completed crosses
0
Long balls completed
0
Shots on target
0
Shots off target
1
Successful dribbles
1/1
Duels won
3/4
Possession lost
5x
Tackles
0
Interceptions
0
While the PSV game was a reminder of his qualities, this was a reminder of why Arsenal must cash in on him in the summer. GOAL handed him a 5/10 rating, noting that he was ‘rather quiet’.
Providing the Londoners see off Madrid again in a few days, it’s likely Arteta will ring the changes regularly in the Premier League but Zinchenko shouldn’t start again.
At left-back, Tierney staked more of a claim to feature when Calafiori or Lewis-Skelly aren’t selected while the midfield still has plenty of options who could be chosen ahead of him.
This may well have been his last start in Arsenal colours.
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2 ByMatt DawsonApr 13, 2025
