Arsenal have reached a verbal agreement with Manchester City to sign Oleksandr Zinchenko, reputed journalist Fabrizio Romano claims.
The Gunners have been eyeing a new left-back this summer, and they now appear on the cusp of landing Zinchenko for a reported fee of around £30 million.
As per Romano, a verbal agreement is in place between Arsenal and City for Zinchenko, but personal terms are still being discussed with the Ukraine international.
It appears only a matter of time before Zinchenko make the switch. He would be Arsenal’s fifth summer signing after Marquinhos, Matt Turner, Fabio Vieira and Gabriel Jesus.
Our view:
Arsenal were initially interested in signing Lisandro Martinez from Ajax, but they were priced out of the transfer after Manchester United entered the race.
Their decision to pull out of negotiations was probably the best, considering Martinez is a central defender, who has only occasionally operated from the left-back role.
In comparison, Zinchenko has made almost every appearance for City from the defensive position, and also has valuable Premier League experience with 76 games.
Hence, he won’t need much time to adapt at Arsenal. Personal terms should not be a matter, considering his close relationship with Gunners manager Mikel Arteta.
Arteta played a part in his development at City when he was their assistant manager. The Spaniard’s presence should be key to luring him, similar to Gabriel Jesus.
Zinchenko has generally been a left-back for Pep Guardiola’s side, but tends to operate from the central and attacking midfield roles when playing for his country.
Arsenal don’t need another number 10 after Vieira’s arrival, but they could do with Zinchenko’s creative presence from the centre of the park next season.
The club have been linked with Lucas Paqueta and Youri Tielemans lately, but Zinchenko’s arrival could cease their plans to pursue another central midfielder.
