Nottingham Forest Fans are all saying the same thing about Oleksandr Zinchenko after Arsenal loanee’s debut

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Arsenal loanee Oleksandr Zinchenko made his debut for Nottingham Forest against Swansea on Wednesday night.

Zinchenko completed a deadline day move to Forest, after it had become clear that he was deemed surplus to requirements in North London.

Unable to play against his parent club over the weekend, the Ukrainian had to wait until the Carabao Cup clash with Championship Swansea to make his first appearance for the East Midlands club.

Forest were knocked out in dramatic fashion, surrendering a two-goal lead late in the game to lose 3-2, courtesy of a 97th-minute winner.

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Nottingham Forest fans react to Oleksandr Zinchenko’s debut

Once a prominent part of Mikel Arteta’s team, Zinchenko fell out of favour in his final 18 months at the Emirates.

The likes of Myles Lewis-Skelly and Riccardo Calafiori leapfrogged the former Manchester City man in the pecking order at Arsenal, and he was subsequently made somewhat redundant in Arteta’s squad.

Regardless, it looked as though the left-back would stay in N5 for another season until the eleventh hour in the transfer window, when Edu Gaspar made a last-minute move for Zinchenko.

Completing a switch to the City Ground, the 28-year-old finally made his Forest debut on Wednesday night, and fans of the East Midlanders were impressed by what they saw.

Taking to social media to express their enthusiasm about the loanee’s display, despite the negative result, one fan wrote on X: “Real maturity to the way Zinchenko plays.”

Another wrote: “Zinchenko is a perfect Ange ball player isn’t he?”

One supporter posited: “Zinchenko was class in that half too. Played as a 6 a few times to get the ball moving.”

Another fan wrote: “Bakwa, Luiz, Zinchenko all start Saturday for me. Class so far.”

Meanwhile, one posted: “If this was a bit of a fact-finding mission for Ange, one glaring fact is that Savona should be nowhere near a Forest shirt. A positive fact is that Zinchenko is outstanding.”

Oleksandr Zinchenko’s statistics vs Swansea

Zinchenko has always been an excellent player on the ball, with his main flaws coming out of possession.

Thus, it’s no surprise to see Forest fans waxing lyrical about the inverted full-back in a game where Ange Postecoglou’s side had more off the ball and dominated for large periods.

The Australian tasked Zinchenko with inverting into midfield, and the player subsequently thrived in possession.

Completing 90% of his passes, he was also crucial to Forest’s ball progression, playing nine passes into the final third.

That said, he still did his defensive work, making seven recoveries and five defensive contributions. Overall, it looked like a very encouraging opening game at his new club for the Arsenal loanee looking to resurrect his career.