Pundit Scott Minto has heaped praise on ‘sensational’ Arsenal star Oleksandr Zinchenko after making a huge impact this season.
Minto has been speaking to TalkSPORT about Zinchenko’s influence on the Arsenal side.
The former Charlton Athletic, Chelsea and West Ham United defender gave Zinchenko real credit for the way he has been conducting himself despite the conflict back in his native Ukraine.
Minto hailed Zinchenko as a ‘winner’ and believes his performances have been ‘nothing short of sensational’ this season.
Minto – a left back in his playing days just like Zinchenko – thinks the former Manchester City ace has brought a real winning mentality to Arsenal.
Hailed as ‘the leader’ of Arsenal, Minto thinks Zinchenko has been ‘absolutely superb’ in an Arsenal shirt.
“Zinchenko, you have to say, I think he’s been nothing short of sensational because whenever I hear him talk as well, especially… you can’t even begin to fathom what’s going on in his head with what’s going on in his homeland, so even more credit to the guy, but even if you put that to one side, which you can’t, the guy is a winner,” said Minto.
“He wasn’t a regular under Pep Guardiola but you can see he has brought that winning mentality alongside Gabriel Jesus as well, but even more so for me, I think Zinchenko is the leader, I really do. At training, that we don’t see behind closed doors, we only see on a match day, the ability but also the mentality that he shows to his teammates in the way that he trains, I think he’s been absolutely superb,” he added.
Oleksandr Zinchenko proving to be an Arsenal bargain
It became clear over the summer that Arsenal wanted another left back.
Nuno Tavares wasn’t quite cutting it and was sent on loan to Marseille whilst Kieran Tierney had suffered a number of niggling injury problems.
Mikel Arteta decided to pounce for a player hew knew from his time at Manchester City in Zinchenko.
Arsenal struck a deal worth around £32million for Zinchenko and that deal now looks like a snip.
Zinchenko has been outstanding on the pitch, utilising his ability to play as an additional midfielder to aid Arsenal’s build-up play.
Add in the leadership and mentality that Zinchenko has provided and Arsenal appear to have absolutely nailed it by singing him.
Zinchenko was never really viewed as such a vital player at City, which ultimately resulted in him deciding to leave for Arsenal.
The left back could now cap off a stunning season by beating City to the Premier League title and making himself an Arsenal hero for life.
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