Watch: Zinchenko pulls off an unreal cross pass on his Arsenal debut
Oleksandr Zinchenko produced a sparkling debut performance in Arsenal's 4-0 friendly win over Chelsea last night.
Just days after his transfer from Manchester City was confirmed, Zinchenko was part of Mikel Arteta's starting line-up as the Gunners took on Premier League rivals Chelsea at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida .
There has been some debate over what role the 25-year-old will play for his new club. He played at left-back for City, but Guardiola admitted his best and most natural position was in midfield - where he excels for the Ukraine national team - suggesting Zinchenko could compete with Granit Xhaka for a place in midfield.
"His primary position is left-back," Arteta said on Friday.
"But in this position and in the formation we have, he can modify and occupy different spaces on the pitch. That is Alex's main quality."
And of course, Zinchenko was left-back for the friendly against Chelsea.
The Ukrainian looked comfortable in his new colors as Arsenal produced a sit-up and take notice performance against Thomas Tuchel's Blues.
Arsenal opened the scoring after just 15 minutes, with fellow new signing Gabriel Jesus executing a perfectly cheeky lob on Edouard Mendy, before Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Albert Sambi Lakonga added to the score.
>Zinchenko played the first 45 minutes and was taken off for Nuno Tavares at the break, but one half of football was enough to get his new fans excited.
He had a few special moments, but his best came in the 9th minute with an absolutely stunning cross ball perfectly floating into Saka's path, which created a dangerous opening for the Gunners.
"Yes, because we are here to win," Arteta said after the signing was announced. “To win the way we want to play and Alex has both. He has experience, he has experience in this area, but he also wants a big role.
"He's at the stage in his career now that he's looking for another challenge and we could offer him that challenge as a club, and I could offer him as a coach, that role in the team."
More from ArsenalHow Oleksandr Zinchenko's 21-22 stats compare to Granit Xhaka's
Oleksandr Zinchenko is the perfect midfield mentality monster for Arsenal
Oleksandr Zinchenko produced a sparkling debut performance in Arsenal's 4-0 friendly win over Chelsea last night.
Just days after his transfer from Manchester City was confirmed, Zinchenko was part of Mikel Arteta's starting line-up as the Gunners took on Premier League rivals Chelsea at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida .
There has been some debate over what role the 25-year-old will play for his new club. He played at left-back for City, but Guardiola admitted his best and most natural position was in midfield - where he excels for the Ukraine national team - suggesting Zinchenko could compete with Granit Xhaka for a place in midfield.
"His primary position is left-back," Arteta said on Friday.
"But in this position and in the formation we have, he can modify and occupy different spaces on the pitch. That is Alex's main quality."
And of course, Zinchenko was left-back for the friendly against Chelsea.
The Ukrainian looked comfortable in his new colors as Arsenal produced a sit-up and take notice performance against Thomas Tuchel's Blues.
Arsenal opened the scoring after just 15 minutes, with fellow new signing Gabriel Jesus executing a perfectly cheeky lob on Edouard Mendy, before Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Albert Sambi Lakonga added to the score.
>Zinchenko played the first 45 minutes and was taken off for Nuno Tavares at the break, but one half of football was enough to get his new fans excited.
He had a few special moments, but his best came in the 9th minute with an absolutely stunning cross ball perfectly floating into Saka's path, which created a dangerous opening for the Gunners.
"Yes, because we are here to win," Arteta said after the signing was announced. “To win the way we want to play and Alex has both. He has experience, he has experience in this area, but he also wants a big role.
"He's at the stage in his career now that he's looking for another challenge and we could offer him that challenge as a club, and I could offer him as a coach, that role in the team."
More from ArsenalHow Oleksandr Zinchenko's 21-22 stats compare to Granit Xhaka's
Oleksandr Zinchenko is the perfect midfield mentality monster for Arsenal
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