“Not Bukayo Saka”: Oleksandr Zinchenko names the ‘incredible’ Arsenal star who has ‘surprised’ him
Oleksandr Zinchenko has named the ‘incredible’ Arsenal star who has ‘surprised’ him and spoken out on the Gunners’ Premier League title bid under Mikel Arteta.
Ukraine defender Zinchenko won four league titles, four League Cups and the FA Cup at Manchester City before leaving the Etihad to join Arsenal last summer.
The 25-year-old now finds himself involved in another title challenge, with Arsenal moving five points clear at the top of the Premier League before the World Cup started.
There are fears that Arsenal’s title bid could derail after star striker Gabriel Jesus suffered a serious knee injury at the World Cup.
Jesus, who has impressed at the Emirates since last summer’s £50m move from Man City, could be out for up to three months after injuring himself during Brazil’s World Cup campaign.
But Zinchenko has backed ‘incredible’ Eddie Nketiah to step up in Jesus’ absence and says he has been ‘surprised’ by the striker’s ‘ability and quality’.
Nketiah, 23, has played back-up to Jesus this season but scored five goals in seven games towards the end of the 2021-22 campaign to earn himself a new five-year deal.
‘Since I came here, [Nketiah] has been amazing,’ Zinchenko told Sky Sports. ‘Honestly, even watching him last season, I was surprised a lot because the ability and quality he has is incredible.
‘He has an amazing potential and future for sure. The way he works so hard, I have no doubts about him.
‘For sure, he’s going to help the team as much as he can and he understands the pressure now a little bit. He should realise how important he will be for the rest of the season.’
Arsenal are seeking to win the Premier League for the first time since 2004 but the Gunners are not looking too far ahead despite their sensational start to the season, according to Zinchenko.
‘We don’t look that far,’ Zinchenko added. ‘We need to be focused on every single game and go step by step.
‘For sure, the way the fans are supporting us, it’s incredible and they deserve the best. But I tell you, there are only two things we need to do: hard work and belief.
‘On top of it, there’s consistency. There is no limit to improvement, there’s a lot of space in every single detail. Every point is so important. I know it from the past.
‘When I was at City, we were dropping a lot of really important points against teams where we were stronger [than them] because anything can happen in football. If we have chances to score, we need to score all of them.
‘The most important thing is that everyone is humble and professional. Like you see now, we only have one striker – but we can play with no striker – and everyone needs to play his role. Now is the most important of the season and we need to fight for something big.’
