Expert issues ‘big’ Arsenal claim after Oleksandr Zinchenko ‘leak’
Arsenal would ideally have wanted news of Oleksandr Zinchenko’s injury to remain under “lock and key” before their clash with Brentford last Sunday (18 September).
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in injury and data analysis.
Zinchenko, 25, missed the 3-0 win at Brentford because of a calf problem.
Arsenal
As quoted by club media last Friday (16 September), Mikel Arteta was coy about whether the Ukrainian would be available, saying: “We have to wait until tomorrow to make that decision.”
But, as relayed by The Mirror that same day, his national team all but confirmed that he would not be fit by announcing that he had not made their squad for their upcoming Nations League double-header.
Dinnery claims that, while this is not an unusual turn of events, the Gunners would have preferred the information to be kept secret until after the Brentford game.
“This illustrates the disparity between what is out there in the public domain and what is happening internally,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“Voices within the game will maybe have a better understanding of what is happening before it comes out in the media. I think people in the Brentford camp would have been aware of these issues before the Ukrainian FA announced anything.
“There isn’t a lot of information you’re able to keep under lock and key. It is a very small network of people who are involved in the game. There is a big chance that things are always going to leak out.
