“He’s got to be alive” – Lee Dixon insists Arsenal star isn’t ‘brilliant’ in his role after Southampton draw
Former Arsenal player Lee Dixon has slammed Ukrainian defender Oleksandr Zinchenko for his role in the Gunners' disappointing 3-3 draw against Southampton.
The north London club dropped yet another crucial two points in the title race after failing to beat an impressive Saints team at the Emirates.
Despite a late resurgence from Arsenal through the likes of Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka in the 88th and 90th minutes, respectively, the game already looked out of reach for the Gunners to win.
The points are shared at Emirates Stadium. https://t.co/GIWJkVPW5l
The draw meant that Mikel Arteta's team no longer have the league title in their own hands as they are just five points ahead of Manchester City, with the Citizens having two games in hand.
Pep Guardiola's side will also take on the Gunners at the Etihad Stadium, thus making their chances of clinching the league title slimmer.
Meanwhile, reacting to what has largely been dubbed "erroneous defending" from Arsenal, former player Lee Dixon singled out Zinchenko as one of the major culprits during the draw against Southampton.
🗣️Legendary #Arsenal defender Lee Dixon on Oleksandr Zinchenko after the Southampton game: “Look at Zinchenko for Southampton’s third goal. He’s got his man, he’s looking at his man, he’s got his arm in the air and then he just goes to sleep.
“He’s not a brilliant defender. He’s… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/UbV2bnjhin
The former English defender, who is now a pundit, stated that Zinchenko isn't really a great defender and accused the Ukrainian of not being alive during the game against Southampton.
In his words:
"He’s not a brilliant defender. He’s brilliant on the ball and Arsenal use him to their strengths with the ball. But without the ball, we saw him play a role in Liverpool’s equalizerr at Anfield and again today.
Still speaking on Zinchenko, Dixon said:
"He’s got to be alive as a defender, whether you sometimes go into midfield or not. It’s your job to keep the ball out of the back of the net."
Zinchenko was one of the most high-profile signings made by the Gunners during last summer's transfer window after securing a £32 million move from Manchester City.
He has since gone on to make a combined total of 27 appearances for Arteta's side across all competitions this season, while scoring one goal and registering two assists.
Mikel Arteta reflects on the errors made by his Arsenal side during their 3-3 draw against Southampton
The Gunners head coach has bemoaned his side's mistakes in their disappointing home draw against Southampton, which saw them lose grip on their title charge.
Speaking after the game, Arteta said (via Goal):
"The concern is turning those moments around, especially if the players in some moments are in doubt. In football you go through moments when you make errors and are not in a good moment, but you have to come away from that," he said after the match.
He continued:
"I don’t see a lack of confidence. When a team does that normally players start to hide. I didn’t see a single player do that. They were all willing to take risks and take initiative."
Arteta concluded:
"That’s why we got back from 3-1 to 3-3 and should have won the game. The confidence is there. It’s just those moments. At this level you cannot give the goals away that we did. Simple as that.”