At 26, Oleksandr Zinchenko is the ‘veteran’ in the young Arsenal squad. He is also the only player who knows how to win the Premier League, along with his teammate Gabriel Jesus. Both arrived from Manchester City where they had the pleasure of lifting the trophy and they can now pass their experience to the young ‘guns’ at the Emirates. With 10 games remaining until the end, the pressure is up, but the Ukrainian has been there and knows how to handle. He also knows another guy who is good at it – Mikel Arteta.Zinchenko celebrating with the Arsenal fans. #afc pic.twitter.com/tNZFRhJbHH— DailyAFC (@DailyAFC) March 19, 2023 The Spaniard is one of the key reasons the Gunners are at the top spot, and that’s something Zinchenko witnessed first-hand when he was with the Citizens and Arteta was Pep Guardiola’s assistant. That is why the Ukrainian international had no dilemma when a call from London came.“The way he sees football – his vision, his character, his mentality. He’s a winner and everyone likes to win… as simple as that. I said to my circle: “If one day I’m going to leave City and I’m going to stay in the Premier League, it will be only one manager: Mikel Arteta.” That’s what I said to him when he called me for the first time in that transfer window” said Zinchenko in an interview for Daily Mail.🗣️| Artemy Ryabov (Zinchenko’s best friend): “He is one of the captains for Ukraine and has always been a leader, always. Maybe you didn’t see it at City with all the personalities, but you can’t imagine how important he was behind the scenes. Now, at Arsenal, you can see how… pic.twitter.com/HpHkpJ2pKx— Arsenal Buzz (@ArsenalBuzzCom) March 25, 2023 On his side, he brought in passion which supporters just love. He was spotted roaring in support from his car after the Crystal Palace victory, and was also warned by the FA for his wild celebration against Fulham.“This is one of my favorite corners in London. Every time I’m passing this pub – because it’s the way to my home – and every time there is a lot of Arsenal fans. Every time I try to put my window down and scream because after a game I have incredible energy. And you just want to share these emotions with them. We are not robots, we are human beings. We’re just doing our job and when this job is successful, why are we not allowed to celebrate? I don’t understand. Of course we didn’t win the Premier League yet and there are still a lot of games to play. But every single game in the Premier League is so tough… that’s why we celebrate” explains Zinchenko.The man who never won a trophy and got relegated three times says he knows what it takes to win the titleThere are not a lot of Ukrainians in the Premier League and this season new star Mykhailo Mudryk was on the verge of sighing for Arsenal, but ended up on the other side of London, in Chelsea. He was obviously not happy about it, but his countryman gave him a piece of advice.“I told him: “It’s gone already, it doesn’t matter what you wanted, what the other guys wanted. Now you’re a Chelsea player, you signed a long-term contract and you have only one option, only one way: direct and forward”. Unfortunately he didn’t become an Arsenal player – as I wanted personally! – but it’s life” revealed Zinchenko. ##NAJAVA_MECA_7125716##
