Five years on from his Manchester City debut and four Premier League titles later and Oleksandr Zinchenko might finally get the chance to showcase his talents in his natural position in English football.
Zinchenko is poised to join former team-mate Gabriel Jesus and former assistant manager Mikel Arteta in north London after City accepted Arsenal’s £32m offer. Although the Ukrainian’s prospects of winning major honours imminently may decrease, his chances of playing regularly, perhaps in his favoured central midfield role, will improve.
Similarly to Jesus, Zinchenko was a useful cog in Pep Guardiola’s trophy-winning machine without ever being integral to its operation. Jesus spent half a decade auditioning for the role of Sergio Aguero’s heir only to see the responsibility handed to Erling Haaland instead, while Zinchenko flitted in and out of the side when required.
Although both were restricted to bit-part roles for the champions, they will expect to be key figures for their new club. Arsenal will feel that they have acquired two players of repute, with the potential to grow – both are still only 25 – and most importantly with points to prove.
More from Football
Zinchenko had impressed as a creative midfielder for previous club UFA prior to joining City in 2016, but given the abundance of technically proficient playmakers already in Guardiola’s squad, he was quickly repurposed as a system player.
When Zinchenko was picked, it was almost exclusively to play as a conservative left back, whose job was to provide balance and stability on that side of the pitch. Whereas Kyle Walker and in particular, Joao Cancelo, had a licence to gallop forward on the right, Zinchenko generally stayed deep and tucked infield to almost form a back three.
That helps explain why a player with eight goals in 52 appearances for Ukraine failed to score a single one in 76 games for City in the Premier League.
Guardiola admitted in April that Zinchenko had become a left-back option more through necessity than design. “In the position that we have in the midfield, in the pockets as the attacking midfielder. That is his position definitely,” Guardiola said of him in April.
“When we bought Oleks for £2m from Ukraine, he was a No 10, a Phil Foden position, a creative player. But the needs we had… We didn’t have a left-back for many years.”
There will be occasions when Zinchenko is required to play at left-back for Arsenal given Kieran Tierney has struggled with injuries and Nuno Tavares unconvinced towards the end of last season. But it will be interesting to see how he fares playing higher up the pitch as part of a midfield unit rather than a defensive one.
If his display for Ukraine against Scotland in June’s World Cup play-off is anything to go by, he could have a transformative impact on his new club. Zinchenko ran the show at Hampden Park with a complete midfield performance that has become something of a throwback in the modern game: he dribbled, tackled and dictated the tempo, even sliding a perfectly weighted pass through to Artem Dovbyk to score a third goal in injury time.
More on Arsenal FC
That level of performance added credibility to Walker’s assertion that Zinchenko was one of City’s three most technically gifted players, alongside Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez – and therefore, rather surprisingly, ahead of Kevin De Bruyne.
His main midfield competitor at Arsenal will be the left-footed Granit Xhaka, but while the Swiss has a more expansive passing range, Zinchenko is far more dynamic. Years of working in Guardiola’s meticulous tactical framework means that combining and linking with those around him also comes as second nature. Arteta wants Arsenal to play quick-paced football and Zinchenko should be able to plug into his system quickly.
Arsenal have missed out on a couple of priority transfers this summer, but Zinchenko is a statement signing nonetheless. Guardiola expressed his gratitude to Zinchenko as he finalised his exit, making note of his effort and behaviour on and off the pitch as virtues that will be missed in City’s dressing room and benefit Arsenal’s.
After playing a background role in a team that has generally dominated English football over the past five years, Zinchenko will be a prominent member of Arteta’s Arsenal project. And he could prove to be one of the smartest pickups this summer.
from Football | News and analysis from the Premier League and beyond | iNews https://ift.tt/D5i46dH
Post a Comment