Arsenal agree deal to sign Oleksandr Zinchenko

Fabrizio Romano has reported that Arsenal have reached a verbal agreement with Manchester City for the signature of Oleksandr Zinchenko. The club is now discussing personal terms with the player. If the personal terms is agreed quickly, the player may be able to join the team on its USA tour.

Arsenal had originally targeted the Manchester City player at the start of the transfer window, but then turned their attention to Ajax Lisandro Martinez. Manchester United were also after Martinez. Arsenal lost our to Manchester United because the player was managed by new Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag. The influence of his former manager persuaded the player to join Manchester United for a few believed to be around £45m.

Arsenal turned their attention back to Zinchenko and were able to reach an agreement with Manchester City for the player. The fee is expected to be around £30m. It is likely that Arteta’s connection to Manchester City may have made negotiations easier.

Zinchenko, though a midfielder has played at left back for Manchester City for several seasons. He ha sproved himself a very capable left back. He is expected to provide competition for Tierney. His recent displays for Ukraine in midfield has also shown the him to be capable of playing as a midfielder if needed.

When the deal is completed, Zinchenko will be Arsenal’s 5th signing of the summer, pushing their spend this summer on transfers to over £120m. It is likely Arsenal will also sign another midfielder before the close of the transfer window.

The signing of Zinchenko will mean less game time for Tavares. Several clubs in Europ have expressed interest in signing the player on loan, s move that the club are likely to approve.