Mikel Arteta has waxed-lyrical about the ‘perfectionist’ in the Arsenal squad, Oleksandr Zinchenko.
The Arsenal boss added that his summer signing from Manchester City is also ‘really demanding’ as an individual, as he told his press conference.
Arsenal smashed La Liga aide Sevilla 6-0 in a pre-season friendly at the Emirates on Saturday, with Zinchenko starting the game as a left-sided wing-back.
The home fans got a taste of what their new signing is like, but it was another ex-Man City star that stole the show because Gabriel Jesus struck a hat-trick to round off a stunning pre-season for the Brazil star.
Nonetheless, when talking about Zinchenko as a player after yesterday’s game, Arteta praised the 25-year-old mentality.
“First of all, his mentality,” said Arteta. “It’s just winning and winning is the only thing. And winning in the right way.
“He’s a perfectionist and a really demanding boy. I know him obviously so well. And, after that, he brings qualities we didn’t have in the squad.
“To give us different options to play within the role of defending spaces and I am really him to have him.”
ZINCHENKO TO START AGAINST PALACE?
Well, with Kieran Tierney still on the sidelines, it looks pretty likely that he will fill that role, and straight away, the Ukraine star is showing why he was purchased.
Nuno Tavares was the back-up option last term, and given that the Gunners have just loaned him out to Marseille, that tells you everything you need to know about how things panned out for him last season.
There’s no doubt that Zinchenko is a massive upgrade on the youngster and it allows fans to rest easy with Tierney still out.
The Scotsman’s injury towards the back end of last season cost them Champions League football amongst other things.
But with the squad bulked up ahead of the new campaign, added with a return to Europe, then Arteta is making sure that old mistakes don’t rear their ugly heads again.
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