Arsenal are set to land Zinchenko for a reported £32m deal from Premier League champions Manchester City.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has heaped praise on Ukraine international Oleksandr Zinchenko ahead of his move from Manchester City.
The Gunners boss Arteta reckons Zinchenko is an "exceptional footballer" and is happy the left-back is “going to bring us another competitive edge to that dressing room.”
“As you've seen, he is here [in Orlando],” Arteta said after his side beat Orlando City 3-1 in their pre-season tour in the USA.
“There are still a few formalities to get everything completed but we're really happy to have him.
“I know the player really well, he's an exceptional footballer and he is someone that is going to bring us another competitive edge to that dressing room."
The Spaniard added: "He can play in both. He was a natural No 10 early in his career and we converted him into a left-back [at Manchester City], which can do a lot of things that we want in our way of playing.
“That versatility is something that is going to be important for the team because we have players in that position who are more specific full-backs, so I'm really happy.
"[Versatility] is one of the things and the way we can adapt structures, formations, and rotations within the squad and playing with the same players in a different way. To be more unpredictable is obviously important and that is why we have recruited [versatile] players.
"We have a large squad," added Arteta."We have to make some decisions on the players that we're not going to be using consistently and be fair and straight with them and that's a process that is going to start very soon as well.
"We have to, and now we have to make things happen.
Zinchenko will be Arsenal's fifth recruit of the summer after signing Gabriel Jesus (£45m), Fabio Vieira (£34m), Matt Turner (£7.5m), and Marquinhos (£3m), while Alexandre Lacazette remains the only first-team departure.
Comments