Manchester City confirmed on Friday that Oleksandr Zinchenko had left the club to join Arsenal on a four-year deal. The Gunners paid £32m for the 25-year-old who made just 15 Premier League appearances last season, but Zinchenko added a lot of value to City.
Not only did he feature in both legs of City’s Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid, he played in their last seven league games as they sealed the title on the final day. Zinchenko was deemed a good egg in the dressing room with a work ethic few could match, so it’s surprising Pep Guardiola let him go.
With Zinchenko gone and Benjamin Mendy suspended, the City manager doesn’t have a natural left-back in the first-team. And the Premier League champions recently had a bid rejected for Brighton & Hove Albion’s Marc Cucurella just two weeks before the new season starts, so it’s not ideal preparation from Guardiola.
The theme of this summer has been City weakening their squad and significantly strengthening a title rival, letting Gabriel Jesus and Zinchenko join Arsenal while Raheem Sterling was sold to Chelsea. Guardiola may live to regret letting so many talented players leave for domestic rivals this summer.
In other news, Pep Guardiola makes decision on Man City youngster ‘wanted’ by Premier League clubs