Oleksandr Zinchenko admits Mikel Arteta has berated Arsenal squad for ‘unacceptable’ habit

Oleksandr Zinchenko has revealed that Mikel Arteta has been criticising the Arsenal squad in recent weeks over an unacceptable habit.

Zinchenko swapped Manchester City for Arsenal last summer and has played a huge role in the Gunners’ unexpected charge towards the Premier League title.

Arteta’s men have led the way for the majority of the 22/23 season but draws against Liverpool, Southampton and West Ham plus a defeat against City meant Pep Guardiola’s side are in pole position to win the title.

On Tuesday night, Arsenal produced a brilliant performance to end their winless run and returned to the top of the table after beating Chelsea 3-1.

After the match, Zinchenko admitted Arteta isn’t happy with the lack of clean sheets in recent matches, the Gunners have conceded at least one goal in 10 of their last 11 games.

Zinchenko said: “The manager has already said to us a couple of things we’ve done badly, what we’ve done good.

“Of course, it’s not acceptable at this level to concede so many goals and we need to improve on that.”

The 26-year-old added: “But we’re human beings, we’re still learning and we’re such a young team as well, so I hope for the future we’re going to do much better.”

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Ahead of City’s clash against West Ham United on Wednesday night, Arsenal are currently top of the table by two points.

Zinchenko has vowed to fight till the very end as the Premier League title race edges closer to the finish line.

He said: “Now we have got three points, I hope the energy is back — and let’s see what is going to happen in the next games, because we have some tough games to play.

“Today’s win is so important for us to be back in a routine, for the mood in the dressing room and in terms also for our League position.

“Of course everyone was disappointed [after losing to 4-1 at Man City], but still we have a few games to play and everything is possible in this league.”

Zinchenko continued: “We need to keep fighting, because we worked so hard during this season. Unfortunately, [the title] is not in our hands, but you never know what can happen in this League.”

Arsenal are back in Premier League action this weekend as they take on Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon.