Oleksandr Zinchenko mocks Declan Rice and Christian Norgaard as Arsenal exit looms
Oleksandr Zinchenko has joked at Declan Rice and Christian Norgaard’s expense as he nears the Arsenal exit door this summer.
Arsenal’s lack of silverware over the last few years has furthered their desire to be busy in this summer’s transfer window, and Zinchenko could be on his way out after a few mixed seasons in North London.
The 28-year-old joined the Gunners for £30million [The Athletic] from Man City in 2022, and he has often been used as a back-up in numerous positions while struggling to nail down a starting spot under Mikel Arteta.
He featured just 23 times in all competitions last term, and Football Insider revealed in May that Zinchenko is expected to leave Arsenal this summer amid interest from Borussia Dortmund.
Zinchenko is also a target for AC Milan, according to reports, and the Gunners have made a final decision to sell the Ukraine international before the new season, as recently revealed by Football Insider.
Zinchenko catches Rice and Norgaard sleeping
Zinchenko shared a video of new Arsenal signing Norgaard sleeping earlier this week, and it seems the Danish midfielder is still finding life at his new club tiring as the Gunners prepare for the new season on a pre-season tour of Asia.
The Ukrainian international took to his Instagram story once again on Tuesday (29 July) with yet another video of Norgaard asleep on the team coach, while his midfield partner Rice was also caught this time by Zinchenko.
He captioned the comical video by saying: “Again?” and tagging Norgaard’s account, as well as three sleeping emojis with a tag to Rice’s account.
Zinchenko needs to leave Arsenal for his own career
Football Insider verdict
Zinchenko’s career path up to this point has not been a particularly conventional one, after he emerged as an attacking midfielder at City but soon moved to central midfield and now left-back with the Gunners.
While he clearly looks to be enjoying life away from the pitch with Arsenal, on it has been a different story, and it certainly seems unlikely that he becomes first-choice under Arteta again after Myles Lewis-Skelly’s recent breakthrough into the senior side.
| Appearances | 15 |
| Starts | 5 |
| Assists | 1 |
| Progressive passes per 90 | 8.2 |
| Aerials won per 90 | 2.05 |
| Blocks per 90 | 1.37 |
| Clearances per 90 | 1.71 |
The Ukrainian international needs to depart the North London outfit as soon as possible due to his lack of regular game-time and lack of minutes in important games, because he is 28-years-old now and will want to play regularly ahead of next year’s World Cup.
As well as Dortmund and Milan, The Sun have previously claimed that Fulham and Ajax are also interested in his services, so it’s not like he is set to be short of suitors if he demands a move away.
A move to Milan looks unlikely now after the Serie A side recently signed Pervis Estupinan from Brighton, but Dortmund would surely be ideal given their Champions League status, and because it would be much more likely that he plays further forward in midfield, which is where he has mostly shone in recent years and where he exclusively plays for Ukraine.