Arsenal signed defender Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City as one of several former City players to move to the Emirates. 

The Ukraine international has been at Arsenal since 2022, when they signed him in the summer before the first of their two seasons battling Manchester City to win the Premier League title.

This season, he has become a depth option for Mikel Arteta due to the emergence of the likes of Myles Lewis-Skelly in defence.

Aged 28, Zinchenko has been at Arsenal for three years since signing from City for a transfer fee of £29m after he’d spent much of his career at the Etihad Stadium.

Youth career in Ukraine and Russia before big City move

Oleksandr Zinchenko began his footballing career aged just eight with Ukrainian Youth Sportive School Karpatia. He spent four years there before joining Monolit Illichivsk in 2008, where he spent just one year.

He impressed at a youth level and was scouted by Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk, where he joined in 2010, aged 14. He spent four years in the Shakhtar youth academy before moving with his family to Russia due to conflict in the Donbass region of Ukraine. He then began his career by signing his first professional contract for Russian side FC UFA.

In his first season as a professional Zinchenko made eight appearances for UFA at the age of 19 years old. He then broke out in the UFA team, making 26 appearances for the Russian side scoring two goals and four assists.

In July 2016, Manchester City signed the Ukrainian defender for a reported fee of £1.7m, after also generating interest from Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund.

But before he could make his City debut, Zinchenko was loaned out to Eredivisie side PSV, and impressed whilst on loan. He made 24 appearances for PSV in the 2016/17 season, contributing with 13 assists. He also made his Champions League debut for the Dutch side.

After his year at PSV, Zinchenko attracted the attention of Pep Guardiola who decided not to loan him out for the 2017/18 season. At the age of 21, the defender made his debut for City in October 2017 in a Carabao Cup game against Wolves which finished 0-0.

His first Premier League appearance came in December of the same season, with Zinchenko making a total of 14 appearances for City that year. He also won his first Premier League title with Guardiola’s side in 2018.

In his second full season for City, Zinchenko became more of a first team regular, making 29 appearances in all competitions, he also scored his first City goal in a Carabao Cup match against Burton Albion which helped send City to the final.

However, his season was cut short due to needing surgery on his knee in the back end of the year. In 2019/20, Zinchenko made 25 appearances for City, 19 of which were in the Premier League.

Following that, the defender had his best season so far in 2020/21 when he made 32 appearances for City, becoming a regular in Guardiola’s starting XI at the age of 24.

In his final season with City, Zinchenko suffered more knee issues, but still made 28 appearances for the club, leaving the Etihad having picked up four Premier League titles, four Carabao Cups, and an FA Cup.

Zinchenko’s move to Arsenal

The defender moved to Arsenal at the age of 25 for a fee of £29m from rivals Manchester City for the 2022/23 season.

He joined up with Mikel Arteta who he had formerly worked under at City when Arteta was Pep’s assistant manager at the Etihad.

He made his debut for the Gunners on the 5th August 2022, registering his first assist for the club in a 2-0 win against Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium.

In his first year with Arsenal, Zinchenko made 33 appearances, scoring his first goal in a win against Aston Villa in February 2023, when the Gunners were embroiled in a title fight with City.

Zinchenko’s second season with Arsenal almost warranted a Premier League title for the fifth time for the full-back, after he made 35 appearances, scoring two goals and contributing two assists.

The club finished two points behind Manchester City in what became a heart-breaking end to the season for Mikel Arteta’s side.

Zinchenko will be glad that the Gunners are getting the better of City this season, but they have a battle on their hands to beat Liverpool to the Premier League title.