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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Tom Victor

Oleksandr Zinchenko's road to Arsenal - fleeing war, playing for free and Guardiola row

Oleksandr Zinchenko Arsenal Pep Guardiola Manchester City Ukraine Vlada Sedan EPL Alex Iwobi Emmanuel Frimpong Lyon

Eight years after being forced to play football for free, Ukraine captain Oleksandr Zinchenko is set to become a £30million footballer.

The 25-year-old is poised to leave Manchester City for Arsenal, representing the next step in a journey which might have been over before it began. It's testament to his strength of character and determination to prevail after plenty of distractions off the field as well as on it.

Back in 2014, he was part of a Shakhtar Donetsk side which took on Arsenal in the UEFA Youth League, but left the Ukrainian side not long after as war broke out in Donbas. Then still in his teens, he only made his way to the top after playing for free before making the most of his eventual move to England.

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