ARSENAL HAVE ALREADY SOLD ZINCHENKO'S REPLACEMENT FOR JUST £10M

In one swift afternoon of football in Islington Arsenal's title hopes felt like they disappeared into the abyss. Have they learnt anything from last season's collapse? Time will tell.

Sunday offered little evidence they had. This Gunners team were soaring high in 2024 but Unai Emery came back to town and scampered off with all three points.

Mikel Arteta's men are just two points behind league leaders Manchester City now but we all know just how good Pep Guardiola's men are during a run-in.

It's unlikely they'll drop many, if any points over the coming weeks, with Arsenal now potentially left to rue their 2-0 defeat to Villa.

The team selection was an interesting one. Kai Havertz moved back into a midfield position to accommodate Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard started ahead of Gabriel Martinelli and there was no Jakub Kiwior after his early substitution against Bayern Munich. Instead, Oleksandr Zinchenko started.

Zinchenko's performance against Aston Villa

Arsenal were acquiring a proven winner, someone with fight, passion and guile. He has shown every inch of those qualities during his time in north London but sadly, he is a defensive liability.

Described by CBS reporter James Benge as "unmissably bad" for his exploits against the Villans on Sunday, it was a performance that rather summed up the Ukrainian's campaign.

When he is bad, he is truly bad and that's what we saw over the weekend. Guilty of losing possession, lacking concentration and simply not being on the same wavelength as his teammates, it will frustrate Arteta no end that a player he knows well from Man City is his main source of blame.

Zinchenko can show some nice touches but when up against it, teams do tend to target his left-hand side. That's what happened against Villa.

As soon as Leon Bailey was introduced it looked like curtains for the full-back, with the Jamaican ultimately scoring the opening goal of the game just minutes from time. Where was Zinchenko? Nowhere to be seen.

The defender had a warning sign just moments before that. Guilty of doing too much on the edge of the area, as he so often is, Youri Tielemans dispossessed him and with a wonderful dipping effort struck both post and bar.

So, how do Arsenal solve the problem? Fortunately, they have Kiwior and Takehiro Tomiyasu to call upon. They will also soon have Jurrien Timber back from an ACL Injury.

Arsenal's rising star has already been sold

Because of Arsenal's rise to title challengers under Arteta, he has found it difficult to hand regular chances to those coming through the academy.

It pales in comparison to his early days with the club when both Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe were in the embryonic stages of their career.

In a deal that could be worth more than £10m, the teenager joined none other than Aston Villa back in January with his departure coming as a shock.

Sousa hadn't achieved any first-team minutes yet but was well thought of by those in the know. After all, he had already been in a few matchday squads.

Described as "England's future left-back" by analyst Ben Mattinson, the future is bright for a player who's spent the second half of the current campaign on loan at Plymouth.

So, what makes him so special? Well, in the words of Arsenal youth expert Jeorge Bird, 'he is very composed in possession, with his playing style seeming somewhat reminiscent of Ainsley Maitland-Niles at youth level.'

Bird continued: 'Sousa relishes pushing forward but also doesn’t shirk his defensive responsibilities.'

So, he seems to combine the best of Zinchenko - that technical composure - but also adds an extra layer in terms of his defensive security.

Whether Sousa makes it at first-team level at Villa remains to be seen, but Arsenal could well regret their decision to cash in on such a talented youngster when the left-back berth is up for grabs.

As bad as Zinchenko: Arsenal's 4/10 star may have cost them the league

Arsenal were downed for the second time this season by Unai Emery's Aston Villa.