Arsenal are making some eye-catching and ambitious moves this summer, but the capture of Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City may well be their best signing yet.
Zinchenko is not one of the star names most associated with this period of Manchester City dominance, but he’s exactly the kind of dependable squad player that was necessary for them to win four Premier League titles in the five years he’s been there.
Only Manchester United have racked up titles at that rate in the modern era, and Sir Alex Ferguson was never without equivalent unsung heroes – John O’Shea, Wes Brown, Quinton Fortune…
Arsenal fans might look with trepidation at how those players fared away from the top-level dressing room at Old Trafford, and their own record of signing cast-offs from their ‘big six’ rivals (Mikael Silvestre, anyone?) and be a little nervous about this signing.
But Zinchenko can be different. He will be different. The fact that almost each and every one of his 127 appearances for Manchester City have been at left-back – a position his manager freely admits isn’t where he’s best – is evidence of the Ukrainian’s humility, versatility and professionalism.
“In the position that we have in the midfield, in the pockets as the attacking midfielder,” Guardiola told reporters back in April.
“That is his position, definitely. When we brought Oleks for £2million from Ukraine, he was a No.10 – a Phil Foden position, a creative player – but the needs we had… We didn’t have a left-back for many years.
“Fabian Delph adapted incredibly well in that position and Oleks as well. That’s happened because he is well-educated, he knows exactly what it means. He adapted and said: ‘Okay, what does the team need? I’m going to do it.’”
In hindsight, Guardiola’s explicit response that the 25-year-old’s future lies in midfield perhaps signposted his move away from the Etihad.
Soon enough, Zinchenko proved that his manager knows what he’s talking about by producing one of the best performances of his career in Ukraine’s World Cup Qualifier against Scotland in June.
🇺🇦Zinchenko VS. 🏴 pic.twitter.com/wjTXStcWLD
— Copa (@copa8t) June 2, 2022
Scotland had home advantage that balmy evening at Hampden Park, buoyed by a boisterous home crowd hoping to reach a first World Cup in over 20 years, but Zinchenko shut out all the noise and silenced the crowd by taking control of the game.
Lining up ahead…
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