Premier League 23/24 we've scored 3.2 GPG with Kiwior starting, but only 2.05 with Zinchenko! 😲
Claudius
👆️ This later tweet in the same thread is a decent example of why I criticise these measures. By its logic Alexander-Arnold is the third best defender out of wide players in the league.
Two big factors will have an influence on any unadjusted defensive stat for Zinchenko. Firstly, Zinchenko operates alongside the league's best defence. Secondly, tactics and roles are adapted for the role Zinchenko plays.
The question of holding onto Zinchenko is about all this and not just the player.
When it was a question of swapping Zinchenko out for Tierney the answer was clear enough—Tierney couldn't invert and with Martinelli ahead we don't need our left back to overlap, because Gabi gets to the byline by himself.
When it comes to Kiwior and Timber it's far less clear it hurts us. Again, no vendetta with Zinny but at some point we've got to cut loose a few players when they have value. We shouldn't underestimate the importance of recouping something in sales if we don't want to end up either backsliding on the pitch, or financially snookered like Chelsea in a couple of seasons.
