Arsene Wenger almost signed Oleksandr Zinchenko. And every other professional footballer ever but this one is pertinent.
Arsenal share Wenger’s transfer vision over one of Guardiola’s most impressive signings everOleksandr Zinchenko offers proof that Pep Guardiola’s magic does not need multi-million pound talents to work. No wonder Arsenal are sniffing.The 2013/14 UEFA Youth League was an ostensibly unremarkable tournament. Barcelona thrashed Benfica in the final, with top scorer Munir netting in every knockout game. Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City reached the quarter-finals.
“He called and said: ‘I have a need for that player. He’s going to play in the first team. I know he is only 17, but I’m going to write a letter to his family that I will take care of him when he is with us and he’ll play in the first team,”“Arsene had seen a youth game of Shakhtar and took 20 minutes to assess the potential of Oleksandr. Wenger asked me ten times about Zinchenko and I later informed him and felt even a bit sad because I couldn’t help him.
Zinchenko’s path to the top from that point was not linear. He left Shakhtar in 2014 due to the war in the Donbas region, sacrificing his professional prospects to play on the concrete pitches of Moscow after moving to Russia with his family. Contractual issues allowed the inconspicuous FC Ufa to take advantage and sign a teenager stationed well above their usual level.
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