To fund some of their summer spending, Arsenal will have to say an emotional goodbye to one or two players this summer.
Kieran Tierney is set to leave Arsenal to rejoin Celtic first and foremost, a player who has seriously endeared himself to fans in N5.
Tierney has been brilliant whenever Mikel Arteta has needed him over the past few months, an exceptional professional who has never kicked up a fuss at Arsenal, even when not playing.
Of course, Arteta wouldn’t keep any questionable characters in his squad — one of the Spaniard’s non-negotiables is that all of his players are pulling in the right direction.
And in terms of those who continue to set an excellent example at Arsenal, Oleksandr Zinchenko can be held in the exact same breath.
Arsenal have been trying to sell Oleksandr Zinchenko
However, owing to Arsenal’s strength in depth at left-back these days and the progression that Arteta’s side continue to make, Zinchenko is now somewhat surplus to requirements.
And according to TNATS, who shared the news via their Patreon, Zinchenko is now ‘extremely likely’ to leave Arsenal this summer.
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The information states that Arsenal have been trying to sell the £30m defender for the past two transfer windows.
And in addition, it’s said that clubs have already made contact to sign the 28-year-old, who will have one year left on his contract this summer.
The Ukrainian appears to be a very valued member of Arsenal’s squad off of the pitch right now — William Saliba called Zinchenko ‘crazy’ because of his good humour.
However, with Myles Lewis-Skelly’s emergence and the likes of Riccardo Calafiori waiting in the wings, there’s no longer a regular route into the starting eleven for Zinchenko.
Granit Xhaka warned Arsenal about losing Oleksandr Zinchenko
Of course, Arteta probably won’t enjoy losing such a big character at Arsenal, even if he’s not playing too often on the pitch.
And when speaking in an interview in 2022, former Gunner Granit Xhaka did actually say that Zinchenko was the kind of player Arsenal ‘need’ to keep.
Xhaka also referenced Zinchenko’s humour in the midst of a big game against Liverpool at the time, highlighting the importance of his light-hearted nature.
Xhaka said: “Alex Zinchenko is a guy who is funny, you can joke with him.
“We had a meeting before the Liverpool game, he was speaking and speaking and speaking and speaking. He was sitting behind me, I was thinking: ‘When are you going to stop talking?! (laughs)’
“He’s a lovely guy, he’s very open. We need this kind of person in our team.”
And whilst Arsenal will now have other big characters in their squad, it’s still regrettable to lose one of the modern day old guard, so to speak.
