When you start from scratch and spend years building a team for great achievements, it’s entirely expected to make mistakes along the way. In less than four years at the Emirates, Mikel Arteta has spent around 680 million euros in total reconstruction of Arsenal, yet he hasn’t managed to assemble a flawless team. The football community in Britain currently sees two main flaws in the Gunners’ current team, with the lack of a top-class striker being pointed out for years. The second flaw, which has become pronounced in the current season, concerns the left-back position, and the Gunners will try to strengthen further this position in the upcoming June transfer window, as per The Athletic.Arteta: We should have scored five, if this defeat disturbs us we are not strong enoughIn theory, Mikel Arteta has six options for the left-back position, more than any other position in the team, but none are ‘ideal’. Kieran Tierney and Nuno Tavares, whom he doesn’t rely on heavily, are on loan spells, Takehiro Tomiyasu performs best on the right side, Jurrien Timber and Jakub Kiwior in the central defense, while Oleksandr Zinchenko seems to be losing favor with the Spanish coach. Tactically flexible, a playmaker trapped in the body of a defender, Zinchenko has served Arteta as a very good solution in the ‘transitional’ period, on the road to returning to the top of English football. It’s not an exaggeration to say that last season he was one of the most reliable players for the London club. However, in the current season, his defensive shortcomings are becoming more apparent, and “his audacity to try to find solutions that others wouldn’t dare is increasingly less of an advantage for Arsenal,” emphasizes Athletic, recalling an incident from the second half on Sunday when the captain of the Ukrainian national team almost cost the Gunners dearly against Aston Villa with his risky play near his own penalty area.🚨🚨| Arsenal is considering signing a left-back this summer.The club has not engaged in significant negotiations to renew Zinchenko’s contract. [@TheAthleticFC] pic.twitter.com/Y1IKPmaNSs— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) April 15, 2024 Zinchenko’s contract with Arsenal expires in two seasons, which is the moment when clubs usually decide whether to sell or extend a player’s contract. However, at a time when signatures are being churned out at the Emirates – Bukayo Saka, William Saliba, and Martin Odegaard have signed new contracts – significant negotiations with the 27-year-old Ukrainian haven’t begun. And although there are currently no rumors about who might arrive in North London, The Athletic claims that Arsenal’s shopping list includes bringing in a new left-back.##NAJAVA_MECA_8028088##
