Is this the real reason why Arsenal have suffered a slump in form lately?

I don’t think we should start panicking yet, but I do think it has provided a much needed wake-up call. We had a very good start to the season. That’s all. We haven’t won anything, we simply won a bunch of games a team with ambition should win and got an outstanding win against Liverpool.

So what has been the difference from then to now? It’s hard to tell for certain. There’s has been lots of talk of fatigue, but if that is the case then we are in all kinds of trouble given that we are probably less than a third of the way through the season. And I genuinely don’t think it is.

So I offer an alternative reason to why our standard or at least consistency has dropped off: the loss of Zinchenko. His leadership and unrelenting demand for perfection is going to be a big loss for any team, but for a young side without an abundance of leaders it is a huge hole out there on the pitch.

I think his presence in the side makes everyone better. I freely admit I didn’t really understand how good he was before he joined, but from what I’ve seen and read he is definitely one of our most influential characters and the sooner we get him back the better.