Oleksandr Zinchenko is hoping to get "revenge" over his former Manchester City teammates on Wednesday after being teased by Kyle Walker following the FA Cup clash in January.
City and Arsenal came together for the first time this season in the FA Cup fourth round last month, with Pep Guardiola's side coming out on top with a 1-0 win, Nathan Ake's 64th-minute goal proved enough to hand the Blues a place in the fifth round draw. The clash at the Etihad was the first opportunity for the Ukrainian to face his old teammates, having reunited with Mikel Arteta in north London last summer.
Pictures after the final whistle showed a jubilant Walker approaching his former teammate before giving him a big hug. But ever the competitor, Zinchenko was far from happy in the aftermath of defeat and reacted a little angrily before being joined by a few more City players.
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And now, Zinchenko has shed some light on the situation, insisting there was no malice from either side and that he remains in close contact with his former teammates.
"I still keep in touch with most of them; we are friends and always will be," the former City man told Ukrainian outlet Vbet News. "Yeah, they won that match, and they were joking with me. But I hope we will get revenge next Wednesday."
Next week's trip to the Emirates looks set to be a crucial clash in the race for the title, with just five points between the pair - although both have three points on offer this weekend. It will also hand Guardiola a chance to record his seventh win in eight games against a former assistant, and having played under both, Zinchenko believes there are many similarities between the two managers.
"I have known Mikel since City, and I always knew that he is an amazing manager. There are a lot of similarities between Arteta and Guardiola, but obviously everyone is a bit different, and still there is some difference between them as well. But the similarity is that both of them want to win every single game, and that’s the most important thing."
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