Zinchenko breaks silence after losing cool with former Man City teammates

Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko broke his silence after appearing to lose his cool with former Manchester City teammates.

Last night City edged past Premier League title rivals Arsenal to make the fifth round of the FA Cup.

The Gunners have a five-point lead over City at the summit of the Premier League, but in the season’s first clash between the two teams, Pep Guardiola's side claimed a 1-0 victory courtesy of a composed Nathan Ake finish.

Zinchenko, who spent six trophy-laden years at the Etihad Stadium before a summer move to Arsenal, came on for the Gunners in the second half.

The Ukraine international has played a pivotal role in transforming the Gunners into title contenders this term but was unable to help force the equalised for Mikel Arteta’s side.

Zinchenko’s altercation with Gundogan

Zinchenko was warmly greeted by City’s fans when coming onto the pitch in the second half.

However, his return took a bizarre turn at the final whistle when the 26-year-old was involved in an altercation with City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan.

Ruben Dias, Kyle Walker and Jack Grealish all subsequently attempted to diffuse the situation before Zinchenko was led away by Joao Cancelo.

Zinchenko then swapped shirts with Walker before heading down the tunnel.

Taking to Instagram, Zinchenko wrote: “Not the result what we came for but we will bounce back!

“There are no old friends – there are friends with whom there are many good memories and you will always be glad to see each of them.

“There is no past home – there is a place where you were very happy, and now you are happy to return. Thank you, Etihad for the warm welcome!

“See you soon at Emirates, I hope you will have fun.”