Arsenal may now have to consider recalling Oleksandr Zinchenko from his loan at Nottingham Forest due to the mess that has ensued at the City Ground.
Zinchenko joined Forest on deadline day, in a deal that was agreed at the eleventh hour and facilitated by the Gunners’ relationship with Edu Gaspar.
The Ukrainian began brightly under Ange Postecoglou, despite the East Midlanders’ general issues, although the Australian lasted just eight games in the City Ground dugout.
Sean Dyche is now set to be appointed as the new Forest head coach, leaving Zinchenko’s future uncertain moving forward.
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Oleksandr Zinchenko’s future is uncertain at Nottingham Forest
Zinchenko fell out of favour at Arsenal and needed to be moved on over the summer.
However, due to his excessive wage package at the Emirates, finding the player a new home was easier said than done for Andrea Berta.
Eventually settling on last last-minute temporary stint in the East Midlands, this appeared to be a positive move on the surface for the left-back, particularly after Postecoglou was appointed.
Operating in a possession-oriented system that would allow him to invert into midfield, as well as playing in Europe, there were reasons for the player to be optimistic about his prospects for the season.
In fact, Forest fans were in awe of Zinchenko on his debut away at Swansea City in the League Cup.
However, the state of affairs has quickly spiralled into chaos and toxicity. The Forest faithful swiftly lost faith in Postecoglou, whose defensively frail system exposed some of the Arsenal loanee’s weaknesses.
The former Tottenham boss is now gone, with Dyche set to take over. The English manager is renowned for playing a more functional style which relies on physically robust and defensively strong full-backs.
Zinchenko boasts neither of these attributes, and thus, despite being one of the most technically gifted players in the Forest squad, his role is uncertain under the new manager.
It’s very plausible that he could be left surplus to requirements, with Dyche likely to favour Neco Williams and Ola Aina.
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Arsenal should consider recalling Oleksandr Zinchenko
Assuming that they are able to, Arsenal should consider recalling Zinchenko.
That is assuming that he plays a limited role under Dyche and finds himself in a position where he’s only being used in the case of an injury crisis.
Zinchenko’s contract at Arsenal expires in the summer, meaning it would be reasonable to argue that there is no point in recalling the player.
His future is no longer relevant to the Gunners, as he certainly won’t be offered a new deal. However, Zinchenko changed Arsenal’s fortunes in the 2022/23 season, contributing significantly to the North Londoners leaping from top-four contenders to title contenders.
Watching his career fade, when he’s given so much to the Gunners, would be the wrong thing to do, particularly for a club that prides itself on how it treats its employees. Arsenal’s standards should be better than this.
If he’s not playing at Forest, they should look to recall him and find him a more suitable home in January.
