Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City. The 25-year-old becomes the Gunners' fifth signing of the summer, following the arrival of Gabriel Jesus, Fabio Vieira, Matt Turner and Marquinhos.
Mikel Arteta made the Ukrainian his priority, with the Arsenal manager and Zinchenko linked by Arteta's time at Man City, where the Spaniard was Assistant Manager for three-and-a-half years. Arsenal confirmed on Friday that Zinchenko has joined the Gunners on a long-term deal.
"I’m ready for another challenge. I’m not here just to waste my time and the time of Arsenal because the club is always in front of everyone. I am here to achieve big things and I hope we can win some titles, and I hope we are going to fight for every title in which we are going to be involved," Zinchenko said after his signing was confirmed.
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"Even from the last season, I was watching The Arsenal’s games and I could smell it’s coming, you know? The team is growing up so quickly and I think it’s time. It’s time to do our best and to achieve something big."
It remains to be seen how Zinchenko's arrival will impact Arsenal defensively and offensively. To try and find out, we simulated the 2022/23 season to see if Arteta made the right signing.
Zinchenko scopes in on goal for the Gunners
For this simulation to happen, we used the in-game editor for Football Manager 2022 to allow the transfer of Zinchenko to Arsenal at the start of the 2022 summer transfer window.
Looking at his in-game attributes, the 25-year-old can play in many positions, best filling in at left-back or in attacking midfield. He's a very balanced player, taking advantage of his position variety, meaning his technical abilities like First Touch (14), Dribbling (13), Heading (12) and Long Shots (11) aren't something you'd typically see in a full-back.
In terms of individual stats over our simulated 2022/23 season, Zinchenko returned Arteta's faith and returned eight goals with seven assists, almost all in the league, over 41 appearances. These goal contributions would prove to be valuable as on more than one occasion, he'd score a late winner, once against Newcastle in a 2-1 win and another in a 1-0 win over Aston Villa.
The Ukrainian played all games bar one for Arsenal in the league, predominantly deployed in a range of positions in midfield whilst playing second fiddle to Kieran Tierney at left-back. Zinchenko averaged a rating of 7.09 per game in the league - a relatively low rating despite his goal contribution.
At the end of the season, FM22 put out a Best XI for the Arsenal squad, pulling out player statistics, league data and other metrics to come to a conclusion.
Full Arsenal Best XI (4-2-3-1): Ramsdale; Tomiyasu, White, Gabriel, Tierney; Zinchenko, Partey; Saka, Martinelli; Jesus.
New signings Zinchenko and Jesus made the XI, with Arteta playing the Ukrainian in his more comfortable midfield role, partnered alongside Thomas Partey in the midfield pivot. Saka, Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli all made the best XI behind Jesus.
Arsenal’s 2022/23 season overall from the simulation
In the league, Arsenal finished with 77 points, eight more than they had last season in real life and it was more than enough to secure them Champions League football again with a third-placed finish. Despite a media prediction of 7th, they only finished five points off champions Manchester City but were beaten by north London rivals Spurs twice in the league and would finish four points below them.
There was also a strong showing in the cup competitions, a run to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals would come to an end in a 3-2 thriller as the Gunners dropped out to eventual winners Chelsea, despite Zinchenko putting them ahead after 27 minutes. Their FA Cup run wouldn't be as long though, a Fourth Round exit to Leicester in a replay at the Emirates meant that despite a goal from January signing Dries Mertens late on, Arsenal conceded two late goals to get knocked out.
Arsenal's best chance at silverware came in the Europa League when Arteta's side made it all the way to the final of the competition, but the loss couldn't have come in worse fashion for the Gunners. Spurs dropped down to the Europa League after finishing third in their Champions League group, and Arsenal's north London rivals beat the Gunners on penalties after a 0-0 draw to take the trophy out of Arteta's hands.
Overall, Arsenal and Zinchenko were a pretty good match all things considered: third in the league, a European cup final and some solid individual performances from the Ukrainian. With Arsenal's recent success in domestic cups in recent years, it's entirely possible that they go a few steps further and continue to expand their trophy cabinet with Zinchenko playing a pivotal role in that.
Let us know how you think Arteta would best play Zinchenko in the comments below!
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