Why Arsenal Signing Zinchenko Makes Sense

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Arsenal have been busy in the transfer market this summer, with the Etihad Stadium being their preferred location for player recruitment.

Following in the footsteps of Gabriel Jesus, Arsenal have completed the signing of Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City. The 25-year-old joins The Gunners for £30 million with £2 million in potential add-ons.

Zinchenko is Arsenal’s fifth signing of the summer transfer window and it follows in the footsteps of losing Lisandro Martinez to Manchester United.

Arsenal’s pursuit of Martinez was to play him at left-back but also in midfield whereas Manchester United see him as a central defender. However, this shows the type of player Arsenal were looking to sign.

Kieran Tierney is the number one left back at the Emirates Stadium and is a talented player. Unfortunately, his injury record since joining Arsenal has been poor and Tierney has endured long spells out of the team and in the treatment room.

The Scots absences have caused Arsenal problems and Tierney, for all his qualities on the pitch, cannot be relied upon to complete a full season.

So, the signing of Zinchenko immediately reinforces the left-back position and means Arsenal now have two high quality players to cover that role.

Another glaring hole in the Arsenal squad comes on the left side of central midfield. Zinchenko established himself as a left-back at Manchester City, although he was never first choice for Pep Guardiola when everyone was fit.

However, during his loan spell away from Manchester City with PSV Eindhoven and when playing for Ukraine, Zinchenko has operated in midfield.

Zinchenko has often been praised for his performances in central midfield, with his display against Scotland for Ukraine in the 2022 World Cup playoffs being a good example.

Signing Zinchenko not only means Arsenal have added a versatile player to their squad, who can start in the Premier League in two positions but it also adds versatility to Arsenal’s play.

Tierney is a full-back who likes to overlap and get to the touchline to create goals for teammates. Zinchenko on the other hand prefers to come inside and create an extra man in the central area of the pitch.

This is something he did with regularity when playing for Manchester City and it will add another dimension to Arsenal’s style of play.

Opposition teams will have to look at the Arsenal starting XI and predict if Zinchenko is playing at left-back or in midfield. If he is selected at left-back, will he be over or underlapping during the game?

Either way, having different ways to attack teams is a huge bonus and should mean Arsenal will cause teams plenty of problems next season.

If both Tierney and Zinchenko are fit for most of the season Mikel Arteta can pick the player, he feels will cause the most damage based on their style of play. That is why signing Zinchenko makes a lot of sense for Arsenal this summer.