When you start looking at players that have been at Arsenal for a short period of time it is very easy to exaggerate their importance, or get lost in the romanticism of their initial success. However, with the Gunners moving from a side failing to reach Champions League qualification to sitting clear at the top of the table as established title contenders, there is little hyperbole when describing such individuals.
Oleksandr Zinchenko has won the Arsenal player of the month award for January and frankly, it undersells how good the Ukrainian has been. Yes, the likes of Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus have been key figures, but the influence of Zinchenko, who has opened supporters' eyes to what they thought the role of the position of left back was and now what it can be, is staggeringly impressive.
With this, and despite it being just six months into his time at the club, for me, Zinchenko is Arsenal’s signing of the past decade. Yes, you can keep Alexis Sanchez, Gabriel Martinelli and even, although it pains me to say, Santi Cazorla; this brilliant 25-year-old enigma of a player has changed the club and he needs to be recognised for it.
