Riyad Mahrez believed Oleksandr Zinchenko was among Manchester City's top three players in terms of ability before he left for Arsenal.
The versatile Ukrainian called time on his spell at the Etihad and headed to the capital this summer, but he clearly left his mark. Mahrez moved to Manchester in 2018 - two years after Zinchenko. He joined a City squad that included the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Bernardo Silva.
Zinchenko was regularly called upon by Pep Guardiola and highlighted his quality with a match-turning cameo in what would be his final City appearance against Villa last term. Trailing 2-0, the 25-year-old came off the bench and helped inspire his side to three points and the title.
He's since moved to Arsenal, where he has played a crucial role in their early season form. The Gunners sit top of the league following the summer acquisitions of Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus. Mahrez won't be surprised by the Ukrainian's impact given his confession to former teammate Danny Simpson.
"They've started really well. [William] Saliba's been fantastic. [Thomas] Partey, [Granit] Xhaka – look at where he was and where he is now. It's been a complete turnaround," Simpson told talkSPORT.
"[Gabriel] Jesus – I knew he was going to be fantastic – and Zinchenko. I spoke to Riyad Mahrez and Zinchenko was in his top three of players and their ability at Manchester City and we know how good the players are at City. He was gutted they lost Jesus but he understood why. Them two players and their winning mentality has added something to that group."
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Zinchenko has been deployed both as a left-back and a central midfielder, the latter being his preferred position. He knew his hopes of playing there at City were slim and that was part of his motivation for moving to the Emirates.
The Arsenal boss knew exactly the type of player he was signing having worked with him during his time as No 2 to Guardiola. His versatility has already been utilised by the Gunners this term, who knew Zinchenko would further their quality.
Arteta said upon his signing: "He can play in both (defence and midfield). He was a natural No. 10 early in his career and we converted him into a left-back, which can do a lot of things that we want in our way of playing. That versatility is something that is going to be important for the team because we have players in that position who are more specific full-back so I'm really happy."
