KAREN CARNEY reckons Arsenal’s title hopes could be derailed by teams targeting Oleksandr Zinchenko.
The left-back lined up in Saturday’s crunch 3-0 win at Brighton which sent the Gunners back to the top of the table.
But he was given a torrid time down the left flank by Simon Adingra.
Zinchenko struggled to keep up with the speedy winger.
And he was also penned back by Brighton’s high press when trying to get forward himself before being hauled off for Takehiro Tomiyasu with 20 minutes remaining.
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Carney drew attention to the way Roberto De Zerbi’s men repeatedly targeted Zinchenko during the first half,.
And fellow pundit Theo Walcott, a former Arsenal star himself, believes the Ukrainian needs to buck his ideas up if the Gunners are to finally go a step further than last season and claim their first title since the Invincibles.
Carney said: "They're targeting Zinchenko, can they be a bit more patient?"
Walcott added: "What they're doing well is isolating Zinchenko in one-on-one situations.
"He's never comfortable going back towards his goal."
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Fans also reacted, saying: “Get Zinchenko off.”
Another declared: “Zinchenko’s mental lapses, frustrating to say the least.”
One noted: “Zinchenko worries me though.”
Another added: “Zinchenko better not be played against Bayern.”
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Zinchenko joined Arsenal in 2022 from Man City in a £30million deal and has two goals in 63 games.
The 27-year-old said at the weekend he’d walk away from his career with the Gunners to fight in his native Ukraine against Russia if called up to the army.
Zinchenko said: "I think it's a clear answer. I would go [to fight].
"I know maybe some people might think that it's much easier … for me being here [in London] rather than being there [in Ukraine].
“I really hope that this war will end soon.”