In their first Champions League away game under Mikel Arteta, Arsenal succumbed to a 2-1 defeat against French outfit Lens.

The result has evoked sharp comments, particularly directed at defender Oleksandr Zinchenko, from football pundits Michael Owen and Martin Keown.

Arsenal faced a bitter 2-1 defeat against French side Lens in a Champions League fixture this Tuesday.

The loss, which was Arsenal’s first of the season, came despite an early lead and left the team facing sharp criticism, particularly regarding the performance of defender Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Michael Owen, former Liverpool and Manchester United star, did not mince his words when it came to Zinchenko’s role in the defeat.

Speaking on TNT Sports, Owen said: “Zinchenko is halfway house, isn’t he?

“He has to either get close and affect the ball – either tackle or bring the player down or something – or he stays where he is. But he can’t give himself away so easily. Sluggish. As soon as he was played around: sluggish.

“We were talking before, he often gets brought off in games. Can he last games fitness-wise and stuff like that? He looked tired there when Lens played the one-two pass.”

Martin Keown, the ex-Gunners defender, echoed Owen’s sentiments. “I think Zinchenko just gets done, doesn’t he,” Keown stated.

“He goes in too much. For me, I’d have just waited for [the Lens player] to come on, I wouldn’t have thrown myself in there. Little one-two behind him, attacks the space. And then the marking in the box. You’ve got to mark in the box!”

Zinchenko was notably out of position, allowing Lens’ Elye Wahi to score the decisive goal that marked the defeat for Arsenal. He was caught off-guard, allowing Przemyslaw Frankowski to run behind him and eventually set up the goal.

Keown highlighted that such defensive lapses could have been avoided with better decision-making.

Apart from the disappointing loss, Arsenal also had to contend with an injury to their star winger Bukayo Saka, intensifying the challenges ahead of their crucial title clash with Manchester City.

When asked about his decision to play Saka despite the player’s recent knocks, Mikel Arteta defended his choice. “It was a knock that he had the other day and he was perfectly fine,” said the Arsenal manager, although he admitted that the injury “doesn’t look good.”

While Arteta was cautious not to make “excuses” for the unexpected defeat, he did congratulate Lens on their performance. “First of all, congratulations to Lens. They are a really good side. Really well coached,” he said.