The process of moulding the Arsenal squad into one that represents Mikel Arteta's identity continued yesterday as the club officially announced the signing of Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City.
The Ukraine international was acquired for a fee believed to be in the region of £30 million, which takes the clubs spending beyond the £100 million mark yet again, with Matt Turner, Marquinhos, Fabio Vieira and Gabriel Jesus all already arriving this summer.
Zinchenko offers the Gunners a plethora of versatility, capable of influencing proceedings in multiple zones across the pitch. There was lot of talk of the 25-year-old potentially playing predominantly in midfield as it's been widely reported that this is his preferred position. But Arteta has hinted that his new number 35 will continue to operate in the role given under Pep Guardiola.
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"I'm very happy. It's the position we wanted to strengthen," Arteta said after speaking about the signing of Zinchenko. "His main position is left back but within that position and within the formation that we have he can alter and occupy different spaces on the pitch and this is the main quality he has."
Certainly finding adequate competition for Kieran Tierney was an absolute must in this window. In the Spaniard's last two seasons at the Emirates, during key stages of each retrospective campaign, the Scottish international suffered injuries that ruled him out in pivotal moments.
The options that Arteta had in reserve simply didn't fill him with confidence, which had a significant negative impact on both the team dynamics and performances.
Zinchenko however solves this problem. Not only do the north Londoners now have sufficient backup at left-back but they have signed a player who offers tactical flexibility and is fully capable of replacing Tierney from the starting eleven.
It's a signing that raises both the floor and technical ceiling of the squad, with Zinchenko potentially in line to make his non-competitive debut in the early hours of Sunday, as the Gunners take on Chelsea in a pre-season friendly in Orlando.
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