WE’RE ZIN IT TO WIN IT
Arsenal defender says Gunners have proved they’re not fazed by their main rivals... and are 100% up for title fight
OLEKSANDR ZINCHENKO says going undefeated against their title rivals in the Premier League this season shows that Arsenal are ready to compete with the best teams in the world.
Gunners have beaten both Liverpool and Manchester City at home in the Premier League and drawn at Anfield and the Etihad. The Londoners finished Wednesday night back on top of the table after beaing Luton and next week they face Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Asked if their record against their title rivals gave them confidence for the run-in, former Manchester City star Zinchenko said: “Yes, 100 percent, because it shows that we are ready to fight and to compete with the best teams in the world.”
Arsenal, who were walloped 4-1 at Manchester City last season, drew 0-0 there on Sunday and Zinchenko said: “The result against City was psychologically important. It’s not easy to play City away and Liverpool away so it shows that we are ready to fight for it.”
Arsenal led by eight points at the start of April last season before a run of four games without a win saw City roar past them.
This Easter they ended a long losing streak at the Etihad and recorded a ninth win out of 10 against Luton.
Boss Mikel Arteta made five changes for the Luton game, the most he has made this season, but a side without Bukayo Saka and with Declan Rice (above) on the bench coasted to victory.
Zinchenko, 27, has suffered from a calf injury this season but
Jakub Kiwior and Takehiro Tomiyasu have filled in for him, with the Arsenal squad showing more depth than this time last year.
The Ukrainian, who won four Premier League titles with City before his £30million move to Arsenal in 2022, said: “I think it is good for all of us and the team as well that we have good competition in each position.
“We need to fight for it and to work hard to deserve this opportunity to play.
“Have we got a squad to fight for the Champions League and Premier League? I can’t tell you this right now because there is still a lot of games to play.
“We already have this experience from last season, when in the end we didn’t do what we wanted. But we are more experienced now so let’s see what happens. Three points was so important (against Luton) because we know that we are fighting for something big this season.
“There are still a lot of games to play. Maybe the two halves were a little bit different because in the first half it looked like we were dominating much more, in the second half less.
“Our manager is going to tell us what we did wrong and what we need to improve.”
Arsenal’s title run-in will hardly be a cakewalk.
On Saturday they travel to Brighton and then, after hosting Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich in the Champions League, welcome Aston Villa to the Emirates.
The return trip to Munich is followed by a visit to Wolves and, in their final five matches of the Premier League season, they must meet Chelsea (at home), Spurs (away), and Manchester United (away).