Oleksandr Zinchenko says that joining Arsenal is a ‘dream come true’ after he grew up supporting the club from afar when he was young.
Speaking to the official website after his £30m move from Man City was made official, he cited some legendary players of the past as ones who excited him when he watched the Gunners on TV in Ukraine.
“First of all I would like to say this is a boyhood dream come true, because I was a massive fan when I was a kid,” he said.
“Since Thierry Henry and young Cesc Fabregas was playing here, I was just enjoying watching those games, that Arsenal, and obviously I started to love this club, so I am so excited and I cannot wait to play for this amazing club.”
However, he has more to offer than simply being a fan, and while he admitted he’d had discussions about Mikel Arteta regarding his role in the team – he played his cards close to his chest.
“Yes we spoke about my role in this team, but I would like to keep it private and then we are going to see,” he said.
“Wherever the manager is going to see me on the pitch. It’s the simple answer but it’s true, even if the manager tells me one day I need to be goalkeeper, I will be there.”
Describing Arteta as the most important factor in his decision to join, based on their work together in the past, Zinchenko is also looking forward to teaming up again with former City teammate Gabriel Jesus who followed the same path earlier this summer.
“To be honest we are close to each other and I love him so much,” he said.
“He’s my big friend and I would like to say he was also involved in the discussions and all these things, so he’s told me a lot of good things about this amazing club and about this atmosphere, and the guys and everyone here, so I’m really impressed and so excited.”
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