Oleksandr Zinchenko claims he saw Arsenal’s title potential immediately (Getty)
Oleksandr Zinchenko has revealed that some of his Arsenal teammates laughed after he told them they are capable of winning Premier League title at the start of the season.
Mikel Arteta’s side continued their impressive run of form on Sunday as they sealed a 3-2 victory over Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners remain eight points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League as Pep Guardiola’s side maintained the gap with a 3-0 win against Wolves.
Zinchenko has won four Premier League titles during his time at City and the Ukraine international insists he immediately saw Arsenal’s potential to challenge for the trophy when he joined last summer.
‘To be honest, when I just arrived, the quality I saw, obviously I knew the Arsenal team, I knew all of them before [joining], but still I realised on the pitch we have everything to achieve the big things,’ Zinchenko told Premier League Productions.
‘I started to speak in the dressing room like, ‘guys, forget top three or whatever, we need to think about the title’. Some of them were laughing, but now no one is laughing.
Arsenal sealed a late win over Manchester United to remain eight points clear (Getty)
‘All of us are dreaming, but still there are a lot of games to play. Manchester United are back, City, as always, are there. Let’s see what’s going to happen, we need to go step by step.’
Zinchenko also revealed what he told his Arsenal teammates in the huddle before their win over United.
‘I can say exactly what I said, ‘guys, when everyone retires you’re going to regret you didn’t enjoy it enough because this is the atmosphere, this is our home, no one can beat us here, it’s impossible for us to drop points with this atmosphere and our fans behind us’,’ Zinchenko said.
‘Everyone knows what they need to do on the pitch, it’s about desire. I think in modern football now, especially when two top teams play each other, everyone is fast, everyone has technique, everyone knows what they need to do on the pitch but it needs something a bit more, it’s desire, it’s to be in front of your opponent, it’s about reading the game quicker than your opponent, winning your duels, I think that’s the key.’
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Meanwhile, former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes says he is ‘surprised’ by City’s decision to sell Zinchenko to Arsenal last summer.
‘Zinchenko, great experience, he is enjoying his football, you see how well he is playing,’ said Scholes.
‘I was going to ask him then, ‘is he a left-back or a central midfielder?’ I don’t know. He is playing it fantastically well and is a big asset to Arsenal.
‘I am a bit surprised Man City sold him actually with the big influence he’s had. And Man City have struggled a little at left-back, which makes it even more surprising.
‘Normally they [left-backs] don’t have that big of an influence, do they? But he has had a massive influence, not just on the pitch but off the pitch as well.’
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‘Now no one is laughing.’
