Season in Review: Left Back
Quick reviews of each position for Arsenal
As the season is entirely wrapped up now and before we turn our attention to the transfer market and next season, I want to go through the squad and look back at how each position performed.
Today we are looking at the left backs.
This is mostly Oleksandr Zinchenko for Arsenal with him starting 26 of the 38 matches for Arsenal and really transforming Arsenal’s buildup.
The overall metrics from left back are a little odd from what might be considered normal, and especially from what I thought I wanted from a full back (I love myself a wingback style overlapping type). Arsenal did not generate crosses of really much in the way of final third presence from left back.
What Zinchenko did instead was play as the main hub that squeezed the toothpaste up the field.
Zinchenko was often among the leaders in pass attempts for Arsenal.
While also leading the team in progressive passes made.
He ended up looking like one of (or perhaps THE) best in the Premier League compared to left back's.
Not too shabby.
Oleksandr Zinchenko
Zinchenko came into the team and I think really helped transform what we thought about was possible from the left back position.
It is interesting to see however how the worm has sort of turned on him, with a bit of the mood moving away from him as a first name on the teamsheet type player when fans are looking at the starting eleven next season with the incoming players.
It feels like with a memorable defensive lapse at Liverpool combined with an injury that saw him miss the end of the season that people are being very quick to move him out of the team. I think that is very shortsighted and very questionable given what he was able to add to our team, where he could have been/should have been one of the Premier League players of the season.
What really holds this back from an even higher rating is that he did miss a bit too much time with injuries. I hope he comes back and full strength and doesn’t miss a beat next year.
Rating: 8 out of 10 total for the season.
Kieran Tierney
I have already written a bunch about Tierney and I don’t really have anything new to add here.
Exit interviews: Kieran Tierney
Exit Interviews is a series where Scott and Adam share their opinions on next steps for select Arsenal players. The series will run through early June. It’s been a long season for Kieran Tierney. The left back, once thought a future Arsenal captain, has faded into the periphery as
How Much is Kieran Tierney Worth?
I find trying value soccer (football) players fascinating. It is a good use of the economics I learned in school (surplus value, auction theory) mixed in with a good amount of irrational actions and emotions. I think that in general that a player’s worth tracks fairly well to the surplus value that they provide above and beyond the contract, with some projection of what the buying teams expect the player to produce over the next contract.
Rating: 4 out of 10 total for the season.
I think Zinchenko was a bit of a victim of left back being perceived as a defensive position. He was far more important to our buildup, but because he wasn't as strong defensively, he's judged a bit more harshly for those mistakes than a midfielder (which he effectively was) would be.
Also, looking at those charts, wow Jorginho.