ARSENAL

Mikel Arteta Wants This City Player At The Emirates

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Arsenal are in the market for a new midfielder, as per Football London. Thomas Partey has had his injury concerns since his 50 million pound move from Atletico Madrid. Granit Xhaka has been inconsistent, and sometimes even unreliable. Manager Mikel Arteta will look towards a familiar face in order to fill this requirement: Oleksandr Zinchenko.

The Manchester City player plays at left-back for Pep Guardiola’s team. However, his natural position is in the middle of the park where he plays for his national team. But even when he plays for the Cityzens, he tends to tuck into the midfield. Guardiola likes his fullbacks inverted, and this basically makes Zinchenko play in midfield.

Arteta will know all about Zinchencko. He was signed by Manchester City in 2016, while Arteta was the assistant to Pep Guardiola. He has worked with him and is aware of the Ukranian’s talent. 

Zinchenko would be a decent signing for Arsenal. His underlying creative numbers are quite good, and his versatility is another plus point. 

How Has Zinchenko Fared? 

Zinchenko averaged 2.46 shot-creating actions per 90 last season, which is quite good considering he played in a deeper role. The license to roam forward can only add to this. If we compare his numbers to Arsenal midfielder Martin Odregard, we in fact see that Zinchenko actually outshines him in expected assists per 90 minutes. He has nearly triple the final third passes, also boasts a higher pass completion rate. 

All these numbers indicate that Zinchenko can prove to be perhaps the best creative outlet for the Gunners. His game time has been limited due to Joao Cancelo being the first-choice left-back, and this is a disservice to his quality. When given regular game time, the left-back can prove to be among the top players in his position. 

With Arsenal also looking toward Zinchenko’s teammate Gabriel Jesus, there is a prospect of them building a competitive team next season. They narrowly missed out on Champions League football last season, but with additions like these, it would be intriguing to see if they can close the gap.

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