Arsenal are expected to complete the signing of Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko after the club reportedly struck a £30million deal with the Premier League champions.
Mikel Arteta is said to be a huge admirer of the Ukrainian, with his ability to play a variety of positions including left-back and central midfield a hugely attractive trait for the Arsenal boss. City are open to selling the 25-year-old, and hope to land exciting Brighton left-back Marc Cucurella as his replacement.
Brighton understandably don’t want to lose Cucurella and he has four years remaining on his current deal, meaning it’d take a substantial offer to land his signature. However, Zinchenko’s sale could recoup some of that potential fee.
From an Arsenal perspective, Zinchenko ticks many boxes. Arteta is still keen to strengthen his midfield and left-back position, and Zinchenko can be the man to kill two birds with one stone.
Kieran Tierney remains the club’s first-choice left-back, though there are growing concerns about his ability to stay fit, having missed long periods in each of the last two campaigns due to injuries. Arsenal attempted to remedy this risk by signing Nuno Tavares last summer, though the Portuguese defender struggled during his first campaign in the Premier League.
Zinchenko was hugely impressive playing in the left-back role at City and could potentially rival Tierney as the club’s primary choice in that position should he arrive.
The City man bettered Tierney last season in terms of assists, expected assists (xA) per 90, passes completed into the penalty area and progressive runs made. However, there’s no doubt Zinchenko would have benefited in some of these departments by playing within a dominant City side.
Tierney (58.7 per cent) slightly bettered the City man (53.1 per cent) in terms of defensive duels won, though Zinchenko (55.5 per cent) could dwarf his Arsenal counterpart (35 per cent) when it came to winning duels in the air, which is hugely impressive considering he’s slightly smaller (5ft9) than the Scottish international (5ft10).
Despite this, it's likely Zinchenko will be looking for more regular minutes in midfield. It’s a position he excels in at international level, and City manager Pep Guardiola has previously gone on record to say that the Ukraine star should indeed be deployed in a more attack-minded midfield role.
Speaking in April this year, when asked about Zinchenko’s best position, Guardiola said: "In the pockets as the attacking midfielder. That is his position, definitely. When we brought Oleks 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.”
Zinchenko would bring something a little different to Arsenal next season. Maybe not so much as a No,10, as alluded to by Guardiola, but instead as a No.8. He thrives within this role playing for Ukraine and right now, Arsenal don’t have too many of those types of midfielders.
Thomas Partey, Mohamed Elneny and Albert Sambi Lokonga are all at their best at the base of the midfield, while the likes of Martin Odegaard and Fabio Vieira are probably best suited to playing like No.10’s.
In terms of a role in the side, Granit Xhaka is perhaps the most similar profile already at the club, however Zinchenko’s technical ability far outweighs that of the Swiss international meaning that he could be a notable upgrade in that area should he arrive at Arsenal.
