To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

It Took Oleksandr Zinchenko One Half To Send Mason Mount Back To Cobham With Filthy Skill

It Took Oleksandr Zinchenko One Half To Send Mason Mount Back To Cobham With Filthy Skill

Zinchenko had a solid debut.

New Arsenal signing Oleksandr Zinchenko violated Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount with a lovely bit of skill during Sunday's 4-0 win.

The Ukraine international sealed a £32 million move from Manchester City on Friday and was thrown straight into the starting XI against Chelsea in the early hours of Sunday.

Zinchenko put in a solid performance at left-back as the Gunners maintained their 100 per cent record in pre-season.

Towards the end of the first half with Arsenal 2-0 up thanks to goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard, Zinchenko decided to have some fun.

The 25-year-old was closed down by Conor Gallagher and Mount near the byline and the latter decided to dive in with a challenge.

Zinchenko neatly dragged the ball away from Mount who lost his footing and nearly stumbled off the pitch.

The former City man continued his run and helped Arsenal retain possession, before Thomas Partey blazed his shot wide.

Arsenal were dominant throughout and Bukayo Saka scored a third midway through the second half after sustained pressure.

Saka blazed past Marcos Alonso and saw Gabriel Martinelli and Granit Xhaka have their efforts saved by Edouard Mendy.

Luckily, the winger was on hand to tap home the rebound.

Image
Alamy

Albert Sambi Lokonga headed home a fourth in injury time after a wicked Cedric cross.

In addition to Zinchenko, Arsenal have added Jesus and Fabio Vieira to their squad this summer after finishing fifth in the Premier League last season.

Manager Mikel Arteta praised Zinchenko's eagerness to play despite only being at the club for two days.

"He was desperate to play and I knew that," Arteta admitted. "It was a maximum 45 minutes but you could see straight away he was comfortable.

"He understands everything that I want, he understands the process and I thought he had a really good game."

Arteta also gave special mention to central defender William Saliba, one of only two players to play the full 90 minutes.

Saliba moved to the Emirates Stadium in 2019 but has spent the last three years on loan in Ligue 1 with Saint-Etienne, Nice and Marseille.

The Spaniard continued: "I am really pleased to see the way he is playing, the way he has adapted to the team, the maturity that he’s shown at 21-years-old, carry on doing it. We will keep developing him, he has a huge potential, he is already a top player and we have to make him even better."

Featured Image Credit: Twitter

Topics: Oleksandr Zinchenko, Arsenal, Chelsea