Oleksandr Zinchenko returned to the Arsenal team for their 1-0 win over Chelsea. Despite the impressive performances of Kieran Tierney in midweek, the Ukrainian was given the nod and helped the Gunners dominate proceedings at Stamford Bridge.
The win saw Arsenal climb back above Manchester City in the Premier League table. It was a third straight victory against ‘Big Six’ side after beating both Tottenham and Liverpool at the Emirates in early October.
However, despite the lofty position above Zinchenko’s former side, he is keeping his feet firmly on the ground. Speaking after the game, the 25-year-old was quick to take attention away from any end-of-season goals.
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“Honestly, I don’t want to look so far, because we have a lot of games ahead of us. I can feel that this group of people, they are special. Starting from our staff and then all the people on our training ground, our fans, we believe in ourselves, every single game.
“The way the fans support us is amazing. I think I would say that before I got used to hearing that Arsenal, it means straight away in your mind, top four, top four. I would say, I really want to kill and destroy this stereotype.
“We need to look further, and I think this team, this group of people, the fans, they deserve more. That’s what we need to do.
“We need hard work in this and let’s see at the end of season. You ask me if we can challenge Man City and stuff.
“Of course, they are an amazing team, but you never know what can happen in football. We need to go step by step with every single game.”
Reminded that the position that Arsenal are in the table is no fluke after the performances of the season so far, again Zinchenko wanted to play down title chances. He highlighted the presence of the World Cup and the impact it might have in what is sure to be a very strange season.
“Yeah, but still there are a lot of games to play. Let’s see what is going to happen after the World Cup, but even before that, we have two games.
“We have Brighton at home, which is so important for us, they are such a strong team. Then we have Wolves away, which is always dangerous.
“It is very, very difficult to play against them. Then afterwards we will see, but for us, it is so important to be where we are now and just to keep going.”
Zinchenko played in the only Premier League loss of the season so far, the 3-1 defeat at Old Trafford. Arsenal were by far the better team on the day but still lost the game.
Arsenal have dominated nearly all of the games they have played this season, operating in a style that Mikel Arteta has driven into the mentality of his side. The initial amusing tagline of ‘trust the process’ was coined by the Spaniard but Zinchenko’s use of the team shows that there is little humour regarding the impact of having faith in Arteta’s plan for the team.
“I think you said the right things. First, you have to believe in yourself and the things which you are doing.
“You have to believe in the process and that is what we are trying to do every single game. But the most important thing apart from the tactics, staff and belief, in these kinds of games, is desire, the desire to win every single duel everywhere on the pitch. That was the most important thing today and I think we did it well.”
Arsenal will be top of the league at Christmas if they beat Wolves. A side with a new coach coming in on the following Monday after the clash at Molineux, the Gunners and Zinchenko will know the challenge they face and hope to continue making good on the process’s benefit.
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