Oleksandr Zinchenko is off to Ajax, Arsenal announced today. The Ukrainian midfielder had been at Nottingham Forest, but his loan was terminated by mutual consent to facilitate his permanent sale. The 29-year-old
joined the Gunners from Manchester City in the summer of 2022 for around £30M and made 91 appearances in all competitions.
Ajax will pay Arsenal a bit more than £1M for the move, a significant decrease on what the Gunners paid to acquire him. I’d wager that with amortization Arsenal more or less break even on the bookkeeping side of things. If it turns out they record a small loss, I’m sure the accountants will figure out a way that it gets written off or helps the club in some other way. It’s all funny money and the experts know all sorts of tricks. The move also clears his approximately £150K weekly wages from Arsenal’s books (whatever portion of them the club were paying while he was on loan).
Zinchenko made an immediate impact in North London, helping lift Arsenal to their surprising second-place finish in ‘22-’23. His novel role as an inverting left fullback energized the attack and made the Gunners much more difficult to defend. Unfortunately, he struggled with injury issues in the second half of that season, and his spotty availability contributed to Arsenal eventually losing out to Manchester City down the stretch.
Injuries plagued most of the rest of his time at the club, his persistent calf issue worst of all. It became tough for him to get a run of games to stay match fit and sharp, and when he did play, his defensive limitations made him an increasingly significant liability. As good as he is on the ball, his small stature, limited speed, and struggles reading the defensive side of the game makes it tough for him to play fullback in the Premier League in general and in particular in Mikel Arteta’s system that relies on defenders to win 1-v-1 duels.
The Arsenal attack shifting focus from Zinchenko, Granit Xhaka, and Gabriels Jesus and Martinelli running things on the left to the Ben White-Martin Ødegaard-Bukayo Saka triangle on the right couldn’t have helped Alex’s place in the team, either. Although one might suggest that was a bit of a chicken-egg situation — Xhaka departed, Gabriel Jesus had his knee issues, and Zinchenko was oft-injured.
Oleksandr Zinchenko undeniably helped transform Arsenal into the trophy-hunting club they are now. Even though that ‘22-’23 season ended disappointingly, it did plenty of good. It got the club back into the Champions League, helping to make Arsenal a much more attractive destination for transfers and bringing CL money back into the coffers. Perhaps more importantly, that season reinvigorated the team and reconnected the club with the supporters.
Hopefully the fresh start in the Netherlands is exactly what Alex needs. He’s admitted that it’s been a tough for him lately, both personally and professionally. And of course it has been. His country has been at war and partly under occupation for nearly four years. As the one of the national team leaders and captains (more recently, the armband has gone to Andriy Yarmolenko), he’s been the standard-bearer and one of the most prominent, public-facing sportsmen for his country. That’s a lot of pressure and burden to carry.
Best of luck, Alex. Hope you (and Takehiro Tomiyasu) smash it!
