Oleksandr Zinchenko should consider joining former Manchester City team-mate Gabriel Jesus at Premier League rivals Arsenal, former Ukraine international Viktor Leonenko tells SportArena.
As Jesus marked his Gunners debut with a superb cameo appearance in last week’s 5-3 pre-season victory over Nurnburg, the midfielder-turned-left-back could have been forgiven for wondering what a move to North London would do for his own prospects.
Jesus, after all, spent much of his time in City blue twiddling his thumbs on the sidelines. At Arsenal, he will go from a supporting character in Pep Guardiola’s all-star cast to the leading man in the Mikel Arteta show.
And while Zinchenko has lifted no fewer than 10 trophies under the former Barcelona boss, you can probably count on one hand the amount of times he’s started a match in his favoured central midfield position.
What’s more, the one-time PSV loanee has never started more than 15 games in a single top-flight campaign.
Could Arsenal lure Zinchenko away from Manchester City?
“Zinchenko sometimes plays, sometimes not. There is no stability,” says Leonenko, who played 14 times for the Ukrainian national team in the 1990s.
“That’s why I say that it’s better to go somewhere else. There is Arsenal. London is even better than Manchester. Why not go?”
There is certainly room at Arsenal for a footballer of Zinchenko’s guile, class and adaptability. It’s no secret that Arteta wants to add a left-footer to his ranks.
And Zinchenko could perform many of the duties that would have fallen into Lisandro Martinez’s lap’; The £40 million Arsenal target who turned down Arteta in favour of Manchester United. Zinchenko can play out wide on the flank or in a central playmaker role, perhaps in place of the inconsistent Granit Xhaka.
According to 90Min, the long-serving utility man will cost around £30 million.
It seems unlikely that Man City would let Zinchenko go without a fight this summer, however. Especially with fellow left-footer Nathan Ake on his way back to Chelsea.
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