Oleksandr Zinchenko breaking down his role for Arsenal and Man City is fascinating | OneFootball

Oleksandr Zinchenko has given an incredible insight into the role he has played for both Manchester City and Arsenal and the reasoning behind it.

The Ukrainian defender is one of the most famous examples of an inverted full-back in the Premier League today with the role first being given to him by Pep Guardiola.

Assistant manager at Man City at the time, Mikel Arteta, then made a move to sign Zinchenko once he became the manager at the Emirates to replicate the role he carried out for City.

The aim of the position is to support the midfield and create a numerical advantage while creating space in the wide areas for other players in the team to exploit.

The 26-year-old is more than comfortable when stepping into the engine room with his history of playing in midfield, something he still does at international level.

His first season with the Gunners saw him help the team transform into serious title challengers after he had already won multiple leagues at the Etihad.

Zinchenko explains his inverted full-back role to Rio Ferdinand

Rio Ferdinand recently interviewed Zinchenko for his YouTube show 'FIVE', and the former England defender posed questions about the thought behind the inverted role.

When asked how he found himself in the role he now does, Zinchenko said: "I remember my first season at City, I went on loan to PSV, I arrived as a central midfielder, but the season was so poor."

He continued: "When I came back, I thought I would be sent somewhere else, but in the end it didn't happen."

The fact this potential move did not occur was the beginning of a new story in his career as he went on to explain how Guardiola helped mould him into the role.

With advice taken on board from the Spanish manager, he was ready to begin playing games as an extra midfielder in possession, but still a full-back out of possession.

Zinchenko explained the thought process behind the position: "If I go into the middle for the build-up, and we are already somewhere - let's say in the middle part of the pitch - if you are the manager of the other team, and you play 4-4-2 or 4-3-3, what are you going to do in terms of high pressing?"

To portray his point further, he added: "What are you going to say to your right-winger to do? If the right-winger is going to follow me, my job is done."

As the aim is to create space, an opposing forward being dragged into an unfamilar position means that the rest of the opposition team gets exposed down that side.

"I will leave my winger - Martinelli, Sane, Sterling, Bukayo [Saka] - I will leave them one v one," he told Ferdinand.

The rest is left up to the winger to beat their full-back and create a chance with all the new space they have been afforded.

Who are the best inverted full-backs in the Premier League?

The most common examples of inverted full-backs being successful in England are Zinchenko and his former teammate, Joao Cancelo.

More teams are catching on to the trend, with Trent Alexander-Arnold performing well in the role for Liverpool towards the end of the 2022/23 season.

Reece James at Chelsea is a player that has all the tools necessary to be used similarly in the future should his manager see fit.