Arsenal ‘definitely trust’ £32m star in midfield role at Emirates | OneFootball

Arsenal star Oleksandr Zinchenko is ‘definitely’ trusted to play in midfield by manager Mikel Arteta if needed, according to journalist Dean Jones.

The 25-year-old has predominantly featured as a left-back throughout his senior career but has lined up in the engine room numerous times for his country and has admitted he prefers playing further up the pitch.

What is the latest news involving Zinchenko?

Back in July, Arsenal completed a £32 million deal for Zinchenko with Manchester City with the player putting pen to paper on a four-year contract with his new employers.

And the Gunners manager Mikel Arteta was soon asked whether he will be playing the Ukraine international in defence or midfield by reporters.

“He can play both,” the 40-year-old tactician replied. “He was a natural No 10 early in his career, and we converted him into a left-back, which can do a lot of things that we want in our way of playing.

“That versatility is something that’s going to be important for the team because we have other players in that position than more specific full-backs, so I’m really happy,” Arteta added.

Zinchenko has exclusively been used at full-back in the early stages of his Arsenal career, but that could change after Mohamed Elneny picked up a long-term injury.

What has Jones said about Zinchenko?

Jones believes that Zinchenko has the backing of Arteta to do a job in the Arsenal engine room should he be called upon to do so.

In an interview with GiveMeSport, he said: “I mean, to be honest, you can see in his Arsenal performances already he actually ends up playing quite a central role as it is under the kind of style of play that they’ve adopted.

“But Zinchenko definitely is a player that they trust to play in the midfield roles once he comes to it.”

How well has Zinchenko been playing this season?

Zinchenko has provided one assist from his inverted left-back role in his opening five appearances for Arsenal across all competitions while putting up some impressive underlying numbers.

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As per WhoScored, the technically gifted star has won 1.3 aerial duels, made two tackles, 1.3 interceptions, and put in 0.5 crosses per Premier League game, placing him among the top four for each metric when compared to his teammates.

It’s been an impressive start to his Arsenal career for Zinchenko, and he could be tasked with making his mark in midfield as the season progresses.