ARSENAL HAVE SIGNED Ukraine defender Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City on Friday in a deal worth a reported £30 million ($36 million).
Zinchenko agreed a “long-term contract” with the Gunners as he reunites with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who worked with the left-back during his time as assistant to City boss Pep Guardiola.
“We’re so happy Alex has joined us. He’s a player that I personally know really well and continued to follow him after my time at Manchester City,” Arteta said.
“Alex is a high-quality player who will give us options and versatility. It’s not only about the positions he can play but as well, the versatility he will give us in attack and defence.”
The 25-year-old is Arteta’s second raid on Premier League champions City since the end of last season after their £45 million signing of Brazil forward Gabriel Jesus.
Arsenal have also landed Marquinhos, Matt Turner and Fabio Vieira in the current transfer window.
Zinchenko, who has 52 caps for Ukraine, made 128 appearances for City after joining in 2016, but featured just 15 times in the Premier League last term.
He won both the Premier League and League Cup four times, also lifting the FA Cup once.
A desire for guaranteed first-team action and the opportunity to feature more often in midfield convinced him to move to Arsenal, who finished fifth in the Premier League last season.
Zinchenko has aready joined up with Arsenal on their pre-season tour in Orlando.
Arsenal technical director Edu said: “I’m very pleased to see how we’re working as a team here in the club. Oleksandr Zinchenko was a main focus on our list.
“We’re pleased to have Alex with us now because he has the attributes which I’m sure are going to put our squad at a different level.”
I wouldn’t bet on him playing for Real next season just yet .
@Limón Madrugada: I agree, defiantly not in the league games unless he really seems to prosper. Vinicius I feel was played too often and too fast this season too. He needs to work on his finishing
If I was going to start playing for Real Madrid I’d probably be vomiting too. Despicable club with the most ungrateful supporters.
@Vinny O’Shaughnessy: this statement is completely false. Every club has a small number of toxic supporters but that’s just football. Compared to other teams we aren’t too bad. Look at serie-A fans calling black players monkeys and so on. Yes some fans fail to show respect to club legends but that’s a common trait in Spain. Barcelona fans, Atletico fans etc are the same
@Claire Con: all well and good to point the finger but Real Madrid fans have also racially abused black opposition player, Dembele got it in El Clásico in February. But we both know that the commenter was referring to the amount of abuse and booing Real fans give their own players at the earliest sign of any problem.
@Dave O Keeffe: just not true.
@Claire Con: in fairness he said ungrateful fans
@Vinny O’Shaughnessy: cheap shot. Jealousy no doubt. What’s your club won this decade so far???
@Dave O Keeffe: and like I said, unfortunately fans like that exist everywhere. In fairness it isn’t as regular of an occurrence like in Italy (thank God) but unfortunately Spanish fans tend to be aggressive.
@Kieran Fogarty: in fairness he called the club despicable. Not the most accurate comment when you compare the club to others.
@Claire Con: Mbappe
@Limón Madrugada: several sources, including Dembele himself.
@Claire Con: except you specifically singled out serie A fans for racism as a defense of Madrid fans. In no way am I saying it’s just Madrid. It’s pretty prevalent in Spain.
@Dave O Keeffe: I wasn’t necessarily singling our anyone. I simply mean that this isn’t an irregular occurrence in serie A games. Literally something happens every game.