Arsenal played out a highly entertaining 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at the Emirates Stadium.
It was a game where Mikel Arteta’s substitutions worked perfectly. Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard linked up to help the Belgian score the second 10 minutes after coming on in the second half.
But the performance of Oleksandr Zinchenko is earning a lot of praise too. The Ukrainian defender replaced Jakub Kiwior in the second half and immediately brought more control and defensively assurance on the left.
He kept both Leroy Sane and Kingsley Coman quiet, making two tackles, two possession recoveries and winning 4/7 duels. The left-back also moved the ball forward with more composure.
A lot of fans have heaped their appreciation of Zinchenko’s performance and reacted on Twitter.
Sash: “I was really scared when I saw Zinchenko coming on but he held his own and did brilliantly (barring a couple of moments) on the ball.”
ArsenalAnoop: “Unpopular take: We played better with Zinchenko on.”
AFCBanks: “Zinchenko controlled our midfield in the second half. Thank you Zinny.”
Santi: “You lot disrespected Jesus and Zinchenko all week only for them to come on to save our ass.. Zinchenko was outstanding defensively as well.”
JustMyPoint: “Every time I saw Sane/Coman against Zinchenko I shaked, but he defended really well in that match. Bravo.”
Dr Rajpal Brar: “Last thing from me - Zinchenko was brilliant in the 2nd half. Settled the team down by taking control on the ball (could see him visibly instructing players in possession) & didn’t put a foot wrong defensively vs Sane, held him up in 1v1’s and nicked it multiple times.”
