Oleksandr Zinchenko was surprisingly left out of the squad against Fulham (Picture: Getty)
The reason why Oleksandr Zinchenko missed Arsenal’s clash against Fulham in the Premier League on New Year’s Eve has been revealed.
Zinchenko was surprisingly left out of the squad for the match between the London sides at the Emirates on Sunday.
The 27-year-old Ukraine international had played in 18 of Arsenal’s 19 top-flight games heading into the fixture and was expected to start at left-back.
Arsenal have explained his absence on X, formerly known as Twitter, as they posted: ‘Zinchenko misses out on today’s squad due to a slight calf issue.’
Gunners legend Paul Merson recently named Zinchenko as the Arsenal star who makes him ‘worry’ over the Premier League title race.
‘This could be their problem: The left-back,’ Merson told Sky Sports. ‘That’s my worry.
‘I think they need Zinchenko for games against bottom-half teams, where they can go and play and dominate the game, but when they play the big boys [they don’t].’
Paul Merson feels Oleksandr Zinchenko could be a ‘problem’ for Arsenal (Picture: Getty)
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Meanwhile, Ian Wright was critical of Zinchenko following Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at title rivals Liverpool last week.
Mikel Arteta was also forced to defend the player after his blunder against Wolves earlier this month.
Zinchenko has made a total of 57 appearances for Arsenal to date following his arrival in the summer of 2022 from Manchester City.
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