Meet the 25-year-old Ukraine international fullback and midfielder who joins Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal squad after four Premier League titles at Manchester City.
Oleksandr Zinchenko is the latest player to join Mikel Arteta’s re-imagined Arsenal squad. Thus far into the window, the business philosophy of Arsenal follows buying young players with extreme quality and the versatility to play multiple positions. As an established midfielder, left fullback, and left wingback just beginning his athletic prime, the signing of the 25-year-old Ukraine international continues that trend.
Arsenal has already completed the signings of Gabriel Jesus, a versatile forward who can play all attacking positions, and Fábio Vieira, who can service multiple areas of the midfield, yet attack from the right flank or as a second striker. Like Jesus, Zinchenko is already familiar with Arteta during the manager’s time spent as assistant coach to Man City manager Pep Guardiola from 2016 to 2019.
Now, they’ll be united after the Gunners’ $36 million (£30 million) million fee for the transfer of Zinchenko, which can rise up to just over $38.4 million (£32 million) with add-ons. As Arteta continues to build his squad with familiarity and versatility, let’s dive into everything you need to know about the twenty-five-year-old Ukraine international.
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Oleksandr Zinchenko Contract & Transfer Details
Contract length and fee confirmed by official club statement.
Contract length: 4 years
Estimated weekly wages: Not reported
Estimated annual wages: Not reported
Free agency: 2026
Base transfer fee: $36,013,000 (£30,000,000)
Maximum Transfer fee: $38,414,000 (£32,000,000)
Estimated market value: $27,500,000 (via Transfermarkt)
Oleksandr Zinchenko Stats Per 90 Minutes
| Catagory | Stat Per 90 | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Passes Completed | 75.94 | 99 |
| Progressive Passing Distance | 387.89 | 92 |
| Pass Completion % | 88.5% | 98 |
| Assists | 0.35 | 99 |
| Shot-Creating Actions | 3.43 | 96 |
| Goal-Creating Actions | 0.76 | 99 |
How Zinchenko Fits at Arsenal
In this case, familiarity breeds comfort. Zinchenko’s time at City was the multi-tool that Guardiola used in multiple ways. Being ego-free on the pitch allowed “Zinny” to be used in a variety of roles — not always as a starter, for instance — while willingly embracing every minute he was given. Notably, he possesses the ability to contribute meaningfully both in defense and in the attacking buildup.
While Arsenal left back Kieran Tierney continues to battle injury, Zinchenko is more than likely to fill the void. Naturally, that’s the position in which he spent the bulk of his time for the Sky Blues. He has the pace, experience, and passing ability to improve the back line, which figures to be a boon for how Arsenal prefer to play under Arteta.
While he displays left back quality at the domestic level, Zinchenko does just as well internationally in a midfield role for his native Ukraine. If Arsenal opt to give him a run-out there, he could push talented but inconsistent central midfielder Granit Xhaka to the bench despite being a mainstay of the Arsenal team sheet for several seasons.
However Arsenal uses Zinchenko, he has every chance to be effective in his role. At this point, all of the Premier League’s biggest clubs are stacking themselves with young talent in order to service depth at all positions with an eye toward competing for multiple trophies and Champions League football year in, year out. A top-four finish in England’s top flight requires not a single thing less.
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