Arsenal Reaches Agreement to Sign Zinchenko with Manchester City

Arsenal have reached an agreement with Manchester City for Oleksandr Zinchenko on a £30 M transfer fee,  according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano. This will be Arsenal’s second consecutive transfer deal with Premier League rivals Manchester City following Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus.

The former Ukrainian national team captain will be Arsenal’s fifth signing of the summer following Matt Turner from the MLS side New England Revolution, Sao Paulo’s Brazilian winger Marqunihos, FC Porto’s Portuguese playmaker Fabio Vieira and City’s Gabriel Jesus.

Zinchenko, being a part of the Manchester City squad under Pep Guardiola’s golden era, has won four Premier League titles as well as four League Cups and the FA Cup since joining Etihad in 2016 from the Russian side FC Ufa. The player was loaned to PSV Eindhoven, top tiers in Dutch football, during his first two years on City. He represented the Ukraine national team 52 times and also donned the captain’s armband becoming the youngest captain in the history of the national team.

Arsenal is seeking to expand the depth and quality of the squad, reconquer titles and secure Champions League football by following up last year’s spending spree. They were manoeuvring for a left-back in the transfer window, prioritizing Ajax Amsterdam’s Argentinean defender Lisandro Martinez, which was impeded due to a high asking price. Therefore, they moved on to Ukrainian versatile defender Zinchenko. The 25-year-old possesses similar attributes and could line up on the left-back as well as in the central midfield.

Zinchenko started his career as an attacking midfielder but eventually converted as a left-back under Pep Guardiola, spending the majority of his Manchester City career. The Ukrainian is naturally a midfielder but has been used as a backup defender under Pep Guardiola evanishing his true technical qualities. Zinchenko’s performance excels in the midfield for Ukraine making his passing, vision, and technique noticeable.

Despite bringing competition for Kieren Tierney,  Zinchenko will be adding much-needed quality to Arsenal’s midfield, where the performances dropped significantly when Thomas Partey was injured. He could also bring a more winning mentality to the young group of players. 

Although he has a two-year contract remaining with City, not being a regular starter, Zinchenko seeks adequate playing time on the North London side. Working under Arteta again will be another factor that attracted the player to the Gunners. Arteta was the assistant coach at City between 2016 and late 2019.

The deal grants a sizable profit for City on a player they signed for £1.4m six years ago. The club is targeting Brighton’s Marc Cucurella as Zinchenko’s replacement.