Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been told to deploy Oleksandr Zinchenko in central midfield against Manchester City on Sunday.

The Gunners have had a solid start to the new season, but we’re yet to fully replace Granit Xhaka in that left-sided number-eight role. Pundit Adrian Clarke believes Zinchenko deserves a shot there.

Mikel Arteta told to use Oleksandr Zinchenko in Arsenal’s midfield vs Man City

Arsenal signed Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City in a £32 million deal last year.

The Ukrainian instantly raised our level and played a massive part in making Mikel Arteta‘s side title contenders in the Premier League last season.

The one question mark about Zinchenko has been his defensive vulnerabilities. The Ukrainian has been caught out on occasion at the back, and that has allowed opposition forwards to exploit that free space.

Speaking about that issue, Adrian Clarke suggested on the Handbrake Off Podcast that Zinchenko should be given a chance as a left-sided number eight ahead of Arsenal’s game against Manchester City this weekend.

He said: “In those situations where Mikel doesn’t feel that Zinchenko is offering enough defensively, rather than taking him off, I’d rather put him into that left-sided number eight role and keep him on.

“He’s got that progressive pass in him, he’s an unlocker of defences. Rather than always take him off when he’s struggling defensively, could we then use him just in a further forward position as that left-sided number eight?

“The bottom line is he’s the one that’s more likely to play that killer pass in the final 15, 20 minutes of a game than anyone else. It’s just an idea to throw out there.”

He would be incredible in the middle of the park

Playing as a central midfielder is something that Zinchenko has never done at Arsenal – it would be a brand new position for him at the Emirates.

However, the Ukrainian plays there for his national team and has produced the goods in that role at club level in the past as well.

Kai Havertz is currently struggling in that position and the fact that he doesn’t offer much defensively has left our left side exposed on more than one occasion.

Against Manchester City where we need calmness on the ball and incisive passes to get the better of Pep Guardiola’s side, Zinchenko as a number eight would be exceptional. Whether Arteta even considers that, however, remains to be seen.

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