Oleksandr Zinchenko left in tears on the Arsenal bench after the Ukrainian was nutmegged by Trent Alexander-Arnold in the build-up to Roberto Firmino’s dramatic equaliser for Liverpool
- FEATUREDSPORTS
- April 10, 2023
- No Comment
By Agencies
Merseyside – Oleksandr Zinchenko was filmed on the bench in a state of anguish after being nutmegged leading to Liverpool‘s equalising goal against Arsenal on Sunday.
Arsenal had spent much of the second half defending for their lives under a barrage of Liverpool pressure having allowed them back into the game on the stroke of half-time.
Mohamed Salah missed a penalty early on in the second half but wave after wave of Liverpool attacks kept on coming.
Late on, Trent Alexander-Arnold managed to isolate Zinchenko on the right, nutmegging him before lifting a cross to the back post for Roberto Firmino to head beyond Aaron Ramsdale.
Zinchenko was withdrawn shortly after, with TalkSport reporting he was in tears on the bench.
The cameras picked up the defender vociferously rubbing his face and eyes with his head bowed and chaos and noise reigning all around him.
‘There’s got to be more intensity from Zinchenko. It’s almost like he’s training and doesn’t want the ball to go through his legs,’ Jamie Carragher on commentary for Sky Sports said of his defending.
I think they have lacked that real pride in defending. Zinchenko had to get down low. It’s all far too easy – especially if you’re going to win titles,’ Roy Keane added, echoing his colleague’s thoughts.
Despite his torment and seeming fear that Liverpool would go on to score a third, Arsenal held on for a draw, largely thanks to Aaron Ramsdale’s two remarkable saves in added time.
However, but for an overhit Gabriel Martinelli pass they could have gone on to win the game in the dying seconds.
‘Just before half-time we conceded and we gave Liverpool some momentum,’ Mikel Arteta said after the game.
‘We lost control and started to give a lot of balls away. The game became open. We needed resilience, we needed our keeper in the last moment. I think a draw is a fair result,’ he added.
