Manchester City midfield enforcer Rodri has wished Oleksandr Zinchenko nothing but the very best ahead of finalising his move to Premier League rivals Arsenal.
The Ukraine international, who joined City back in 2016, is on the cusp of completing his move to the Gunners, leaving the City squad on Tuesday evening. He left the Blues' pre-season training camp in Houston and flew to Orlando to undergo his Arsenal medical, ahead of linking up with Mikel Arteta's squad.
The Gunners, like City, are also on tour in the US at the moment and have another two fixtures before flying back to England. If the deal is wrapped up quickly enough, Zinchenko could make his Arsenal debut before the end of their pre-season tour.
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A move to Arsenal will almost certainly guarantee the left-sided player more game time, with the number of options available to City chief Pep Guardiola meaning that he was not assured of as many opportunities as he would like this coming season. And although Rodri has wished Zinchenko all the best with his next chapter, he has admitted that everyone within the squad will miss him.
"Oleks is not with us anymore," said Rodri. "He's been great as a teammate and as a player.
"He deserved the best and we are going to miss him, but this is football, it continues and new players come in. We are happy for him."
Zinchenko, who produced an outstanding performance for Ukraine last month, helping them beat Scotland to move to within one game of qualifying for the World Cup, before being beaten by Wales in their play-off decider, made 28 appearances for City last season, but only 15 of them came in the Premier League. He did, however, chip in with four assists.
In total, the 25-year-old made 127 appearances for City, scoring two goals and racking up 12 assists.
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