Since leaving Arsenal in the summer, Cedric Soares has kept in touch with some of his former North London teammates.
Portuguese full-back Cedric Soares spent four-and-a-half seasons on the books at Arsenal, before moving on as a free agent in the most recent summer transfer window.
The 33-year-old was one of Mikel Arteta’s first signings after taking the reins at the Emirates Stadium, with the defender initially joining on loan from Southampton before being signed on a permanent basis.
In his first two seasons at Arsenal, Cedric played fairly regularly, but then swiftly fell down the pecking order. He left the club having made just 64 appearances for Arsenal in total, across all competitions.
However, Cedric learned a great deal from Arteta, and appreciates the Spanish coach’s tactical understanding of the game, and enjoyed his time with the Gunners.
Cedric also made an impression behind the scenes at Arsenal, as at one stage he was included in the leadership group within the squad.
What Cedric Soares said to Oleksandr Zinchenko
Cedric was perhaps more valued by his teammates in his time at Arsenal than he was by the fans, and his dressing room status is underlined by how Oleksandr Zinchenko treated him before taking up his former squad number in the summer.
Speaking to The Athletic, Cedric recently revealed that the Ukrainian left-back reached out for permission to take on his former shirt number.
He said: “It was funny, Zinny called me at the beginning of the season and said, ‘Brother, can I take your number?’
“I said, ‘Obviously, but be careful because this number weighs heavy!’ He hadn’t been playing so much because of injuries so when I saw him I said, ‘I told you it was heavy!’. Zinny is a really good guy so he loves to joke around.”
Arsenal confirmed Zinchenko’s squad number change this summer via their official website, though it is fair to say that adopting the No. 17 jersey hasn’t brought the former Manchester City man much luck since then.
Can Zinchenko revive his Arsenal career?
So far this season, Zinchenko has been afforded just nine outings across all competitions. Only three of those appearances have come as starts.
Summer signing Riccardo Calafiori has quickly established himself as the first choice pick at left-back, and even 18-year-old Hale End academy gem Myles Lewis-Skelly has now pushed ahead of Zinchenko in the pecking order.
Arteta has insisted that Zinchenko is still in his plans, but it is hard to see how the 28-year-old will get the game time he’ll want with competition for minutes also coming from the likes of Jurrien Timber and Jakub Kiwior.
At this stage in his career, Zinchenko needs to be playing regular football, but his trajectory at Arsenal now appears to be following along the same line towards outcast status that Cedric travelled on before him.
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