Tim Sherwood has lauded Arsenal defender Oleksandr Zinchenko as ‘outstanding’ and that ‘cool head’ on and off the pitch for Mikel Arteta’s side.
The former Premier League title-winning captain with Blackburn Rovers understands what it is like to get over that dotted line and he feels someone like Zinchenko can feed that to his young Arsenal teammates.
During his days at Manchester City, Zinchenko won four Premier League titles under the stewardship of Pep Guardiola.
And now he could add number five to his cabinet, but this time in the colours of Arsenal and at the expense of his former side, who slipped up again at the weekend.
When the north London outfit were beaten 1-0 at Everton on Saturday, it provided those in Man City colours with an amazing chance to close the gap at the top to two points, but Tottenham of all people, offered their neighbours a helping hand.
The gap remains five, with the leaders having a game in hand, with Sherwood singing the praises of someone like Zinchenko, as he told Premier League Productions (05/02/23 at 7:25 pm).
“That helps (having more experience),” said Sherwood. “They can talk to the rest of them. They can lead by example on the pitch.
“Jesus needs to get himself fit. Zinchenko, I think he has been excellent. Outstanding. He plays in that left-back role, but he comes into midfield. He has that cool head. And he can talk to them in the dressing room.
“It’s not about what we see when we talk about these guys. It’s about every day in the training ground. They give them the belief because they have a young squad.”
ARE MAN CITY MISSING ZINCHENKO?
Back in the summer, Edu Gaspar did pretty well to secure the talents of Zinchenko for £32 million (Sky Sports), especially in this inflated and over-the-top transfer market.
But what is Man City’s loss is Arsneal’s gain and it’s looking like that by the week.
With Joao Cancelo out of the door at the Etihad, teenager Rico Lewis played at left-back during the defeat to Spurs and you have to wonder why someone like Zinchenko was allowed to leave because they probably need him more than ever now.
Either way, those two deals, including the one with Gabriel Jesus, could prove to be title-changing for those at the Emirates.
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