defender Oleksandr Zinchenko ‘let the team down’ for equaliser at Anfield, according to Jamie Carragher.
Liverpool .
The Gunners, chasing a first league title since 2004, dominated the early exchanges and raced into a 2-0 lead through Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus.
But Liverpool pulled a goal back before half-time – Mohamed Salah netting his 13th Premier League goal of the season – and dominated the second half, scoring a deserved equaliser late on through the .
Anfield legend Carragher believes Arsenal defender Zinchenko could have done more to prevent Liverpool’s equaliser as he failed to stop Trent Alexander-Arnold before an inviting cross found Firmino at the back-post.
‘We’ve raved about Zinchenko this season and he was brilliant today until Liverpool got the equaliser,’ Carragher told Sky Sports.
‘He’s brilliant on the ball but lets them down defensively at the last minute. If Arsenal go back to being a team fighting for the top four, that will be exposed a lot more.
‘It happened in the first game of the season at Crystal Palace where Mikel Arteta brought Tierney on for Zinchenko and it happened again today because he’s not trusted 100 per cent defensively.’
Carragher added: ‘I can’t get Zinchenko out of my head. You need to be more aggressive – the league title is on the line!
‘That can’t happen. It’s almost like he’s in training, there’s got to be more intensity from him.’
Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane was also critical of Zinchenko and says Alexander-Arnold found it ‘far too easy’ to get past the Arsenal left-back.
‘You think about the modern full-back and the obsession is how good they are going forward,’ Keane said. ‘I do think they’ve lost that real pride in defending.
‘He needs to get down lower and make sure the man and the ball are not getting goal-side of me. It’s far too easy, especially when you’re trying to win titles.’
The Anfield draw means Arsenal are six points above Manchester City with eight games remaining, while Liverpool stay eighth – 12 points outside the Champions League spots.
Reflecting on Liverpool’s performance against the Premier League leaders, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp said: ‘We all saw it – a team full of confidence and one that lacks confidence.
‘The team with confidence scored and then we had to find a way back. We had to run a lot and work a lot but that is normal.
‘In a game against Arsenal you have to close the centre. We had our struggles but when we were more compact and played with more direction it was good.
‘In the end it is a question of how can we not win this game. It is obviously much better than getting nothing. I am not overly happy but I am absolutely OK with it.’
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