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  • AfricanRain@alien.topB
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    11 months ago

    people pretending that Zinchenko always gives the ball away and this isn’t just a rare uneven period for him in possession are so strange like how do your brains not remember last season properly

    I get that you wanna pretend he’s the worst defender ever and whatever but like let’s not lie about how good he is on the ball and think about the last 5 games instead of the last 30 lol

    • varro-reatinus@alien.topB
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      11 months ago

      More to the point, Arteta has made it abundantly clear that while he would prefer no-one gave the ball away, ever, he wants players who take some degree of risk to progress the ball effectively and cut through the opposition; even the risks that Zina does represent, even in the buildup, are cheerfully accepted.

    • BlackChef6969@alien.topB
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      11 months ago

      He did it a LOT last season. On balance maybe it’s worth it, but I think the impact of both him and Jesus was overstated last season, I think the team in general improved a lot and they were part of that. But it’s not that their signings were literally why we got better. Gabriel, White, Saliba, Martinelli, Partey, Odegaard and Saka are our best players, Jesus and Zinchenko do not make that list.

      • AfricanRain@alien.topB
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        11 months ago

        If you can’t see the difference Zinchenko made to our buildup play then I cannot help you

        • BlackChef6969@alien.topB
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          11 months ago

          Yes, but it’s not Zinchenko that uniquely did that, it was just replacing Tierney with a more apt passer. There are many other players who can do that. Ultimately it was the change of system that benefitted us, and the change of personell was a necessary part of that but that does not mean that their individual quality is irreplaceable or is what made us good. He’s a good player but very flawed as well, Stevie Wonder could see that.

    • Reevesybaby11@alien.topB
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      11 months ago

      For me the zinchenko debate is a very simple risk vs reward one, and I personally believe the risk is worth it

      In a lot of our games at times it looks like he’s the only one at the back trying something a bit different or taking a risk trying to get the ball foward. I think he just needs partey next to him or to get used to rice (who naturally drifts to the left and is still getting used to not being the only playmaker like he was at West ham)