Oleksandr Zinchenko has become ‘one of the best left-backs’ in world football during an impressive debut season at Premier League leaders Arsenal.
That is according to Andriy Shevchenko, the Ukraine legend who first took note of Zinchenko’s talents when he was a baby-faced 16-year-old rising through the ranks at FC Ufa.
Now a decade older and a decade wiser, Zinchenko has been one of the first names on Mikel Arteta’s team sheet this season. Bringing his elite-level quality to the Emirates Stadium after a handful of trophy-laden campaigns at Manchester City.
Oleksandr Zinchenko a key player for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal
“He has the passion (of a captain). He’s a leader. He leads by example,” Shevchenko, the Ballon D’Or winner who handed Zinchenko the captaincy during his time as Ukraine’s head coach, tells CBS Sports.
“He’s so light on the ball, very good technique. And he was not afraid to take responsibility when he was playing, even when he first started. You could see immediately that he had a different, natural quality to anybody else; technique, movement and confidence.
“He has developed and grown so much, the captain of the Ukrainian national team, one of the best left-backs this season. He deserves all of this for his passion for football, his discipline, his desire and ambition.”
‘Very good technically’
Arsenal paid £30 million to bring Zinchenko to North London alongside Gabriel Jesus last summer. The former PSV Eindhoven loanee has come in for criticism following a run of three straight winless outings – left embarrassed by Trent Alexander-Arnold and then Theo Walcott as the gap between Arsenal and City shrinks – but is still likely to be one of Arteta’s first picks ahead of the midweek decider at the Etihad Stadium.
“It’s his natural quality. He’s very smart and can cover different positions in the pitch,” Shevchenko adds; Zinchenko’s hybrid left-back/deep-lying playmaker role integral to Arteta’s possession-heavy principles.
“He can play left back, come in the middle. We saw him do it many times at Manchester City, he’s been doing the same stuff for Arsenal too. It’s a natural quality, he’s very good technically, he’s very smart.
“And the way he moves, he always finds the right position to circulate the ball. It’s very, very, very nice to see.
“He knows he can cover so many roles. He can change during the game quite easily. The structure of Arsenal games is very clear, every player knows his position and when you win or lose the ball, Alex works so quickly because he’s an intelligent player.”
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