Mikel Arteta has worked his magic to bring Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal in a soon-to-be-confirmed £32million transfer deal.
Once the i's and dotted and t's are crossed, the 25-year-old will leave Manchester City after five seasons to link back up with Arteta, who was a coach at the Etihad Stadium during early days there. The Arsenal manager will now have the opportunity to work with Zinchenko again, who's reportedly been promised to play in his preferred position of modified at the Emirates.
Having spent most of his 127 games for City at left-back, the Ukrainian will be pushed forward in north London, with Arteta keen to add creativity to the Gunner's central hub. Zinchenko had previously rejected offers to leave Manchester, according to the Daily Mail, but his old coach's allure was too good to turn down, relishing the prospect of both a reunion and opportunities as a midfielder.
Although still officially part of the Citizens' pre-season training camp in Houston, Texas, the ex- PSV Eindhoven prodigy is set to join the Gunners over the coming days and put pen to paper on a four-year contract. The deal, which remains subject to a medical, will see Arsenal stump up an initial £30m, with £2m coming in add-ons down the line. Zinchenko could begin training with his new teammates before the end of the week, who're also touring the United States in pre-season.
The move is another sign of the Gunners' growth and intent under Arteta, who's already welcomed Zinchenko's former City teammate, Gabriel Jesus, after sealing a £45m deal earlier in the transfer window. Goalkeeper Matt Turner, midfielder Fabio Vieira and winger Marquinhos make it five summer signings in total, with Arsenal technical director Edu busy strengthening the squad.
It's also another show of faith in Arteta from the Emirates board, despite the former Arsenal captain failing to lead the club back to the Champions League last season. Instead, rivals Tottenham Hotspur swooped in and nabbed fourth place, but the Gunners boss is bolstering his side with the aim of going one better this time around.
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"We've been trying to [sign players earlier] and we have two recruitments already," Arteta explained after Arsenal beat Everton 2-0 in Baltimore, Maryland on Saturday. "Until the end of the market we will keep trying to improve the squad and there are so many parties involved and sometimes things are not as quick as you want."
When pressed to update offer an update on the Gunners' pursuit of Zinchenko, who City are set to replace with Brighton left-back Marc Cucurella or Stuttgart 's Borna Sosa, Arteta stated: "There is no update with anybody and when there are updates we will let you know. We're looking at different options in different positions and we’ll give you an update when we have it."
