ZIN TONIC AND
We can take on best says Gunners ace
OLEKSANDR ZINCHENKO says Arsenal going undefeated against their title rivals this season has proved Mikel Arteta’s side can compete with the best in the world.
The Gunners have beaten Liverpool and Manchester City at home in the Premier League and drawn at Anfield and the Etihad.
Arsenal ended Wednesday night back on top of the table after beating Luton and next week they face Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Asked if their record against their title rivals gave them confidence for the run-in, former Manchester City defender Zinchenko said: “Yes, I won’t lie to you, 100 per cent.
“It shows that we are ready to fight for it and we are ready to compete with the best teams in the world.
“The result against City was definitely psychologically important. It is not easy to play against City away and also Liverpool away and the other teams as well – I don’t want to be disrespectful to the others.”
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 with a goalless draw and recorded a ninth win out of 10 against Luton. Arteta has claimed his side have learned and grown from the experiences of last season and by reaching the last eight of the Champions League for the first time since 2010.
“I’m definitely not the guy who’s going to judge that,” added Zinchenko.
“But I can say that when I came here I saw already a lot of qualities here and a lot of different players with such a big talent.
“This year, all of us, we’ve got more experience, we’ve played with each other much, much more and I think we’re improving.
“Our job is to try to do our best on the pitch and just to show our best performance.”
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 on the bench coasted to victory. Zinchenko has suffered from a calf injury and has been deputised by Jakub Kiwior and Takehiro Tomiyasu as the squad shows more depth this season. The Ukrainian, who won four Premier League titles with City before his £30m 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 every single time. “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.”