It's fair to say Friday night did not go to plan for Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta's side were held to a 3-3 draw at the Emirates by bottom club Southampton. The result leaves Arsenal five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table, but Pep Guardiola's side have two games in hand. All eyes will now be on Wednesday night's huge title clash at the Etihad between the Gunners and City.
Although Arsenal dropped another two points on Friday night, there was a moment which showed exactly why Oleksandr Zinchenko keeps Kieran Tierney, who was described as "phenomenal" by legendary Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, out of the team.
Southampton raced into a 2-0 lead at the Emirates, with Carlos Alcaraz and Gunners legend Theo Walcott scoring inside the first 14 minutes. Arsenal looked nervous and distraught, perhaps realising their title dream was collapsing in front of their eyes.
Yet Zinchenko was determined not to give up. After all, the Ukraine international is a four-time Premier League winner with City and knows exactly what it takes to win the title.
Zinchenko got his team-mates together in a huddle to give them some instructions. It's unclear exactly what Zinchenko said - perhaps asking his colleagues to relax, or maybe reminding them of the title race - but his words made an immediate impact.
What did you make of Oleksandr Zinchenko's intervention? Let us know in the comments below!
Six minutes later, Gabriel Martinelli scored to halve the deficit. Frustratingly for Arsenal, a second-half header from Duje Caleta-Car - with Zinchenko at fault for the goal - left them scrambling for two late goals to salvage a point. They got them, with Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka finding the net.
Although Arsenal failed to win the game, Zinchenko's intervention showed why Arteta starts him ahead of Tierney. That says a lot about Zinchenko, as Tierney was regarded as an automatic starter for the Gunners before the Ukrainian's arrival last summer.
Ferguson even once said: "The form of Tierney, since he’s gone to Arsenal, has been phenomenal."
Yet Zinchenko offers Arsenal so much more than the Scot. The defender has the ability to step into midfield and start attacks, but it's his leadership skills which are priceless to Arteta. That is one of the reasons why the Arsenal manager signed him.
Arteta, who worked with Zinchenko during his time as Guardiola's assistant at the Etihad, said last July: "First of all, his mentality. He’s used to winning - winning is the only thing and winning in the right way.
"He’s a perfectionist and a really demanding boy, I know him so well, and after that, he brings qualities that we didn’t have in the squad. He gives us a different option to play within the role in different spaces, and I’m really happy to have him."
