Oleksandr Zinchenko impresses for Arsenal in frustrating derby draw

Arsenal defender Oleksandr Zinchenko produced an impressive performance during the club’s frustrating 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

The Gunners were the better outfit during the early phase of the opening half and deserved to take the lead through Cristian Romero’s own goal from a Bukayo Saka shot.

A loss in concentration paved the way for Spurs’ equaliser through Son Heung-min before the break.

The Gunners took the lead through Saka’s penalty in the 54th minute but just under a minute, the scores were level. A huge error from Jorginho paved the way for the equaliser.

Arsenal struggled to create any clear-cut chances in the back end, but should be frustrated as Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah squandered big scoring opportunities in the first half.

Saka made a big difference with his involvement in both goals but in our opinion, Zinchenko likewise had a good game, winning 100 per cent of his ground and aerial duels (7/7).

The 26-year-old had 68 touches with a pass accuracy of 92 per cent (47/51 passes completed). He also won an impressive five tackles against Spurs, delivering three long balls.

The Ukrainian has been described as the potential weak link in the Gunners’ backline, but he had a good outing, barring a couple of nervous moments against Dejan Kulusevski.

Arsenal’s draw against Spurs has seen them drop to fifth in the league standings following Brighton & Hove Albion’s comeback win over Bournemouth earlier in the day.

The club are now four points adrift of league leaders Manchester City and can’t afford to drop more points if they want to realistically challenge for the title this season.

Arsenal’s immediate focus will turn to the Carabao Cup where they face Brentford on the road in the third round on Wednesday night. We expect Mikel Arteta to ring in the changes.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com