William Saliba reveals what Oleksandr Zinchenko is really like in Arsenal dressing room

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Arsenal defender William Saliba has now provided an insight into what working with Oleksandr Zinchenko is like on a day-to-day basis.

William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko have shared the pitch for Arsenal many times.

There is certainly an argument that Mikel Arteta’s first-choice back four includes both the French centre-back and the Ukrainian left-back. However, Zinchenko now faces a fight to get his Arsenal starting berth back due to the form of Jakub Kiwior. The former Manchester City man may well have slipped down the pecking order at the Emirates Stadium somewhat. 

Is Oleksandr Zinchenko still important to Mikel Arteta and Arsenal?

Zinchenko is still an important member of this Arsenal squad, though. His quality on the ball, and what he brings to the team going forward cannot be overlooked. The 27-year-old is a brilliant passer of the ball, and lends so much creativity to the team. He is also tactically important, as he naturally inverts from his left-back position. This means that he habitually drifts into the middle of the park, where he can act as an auxiliary playmaker of sorts. 

In his absence, Ben White has been tasked with replicating Zinchenko’s tactical role from right-back, as Kiwior has struggled to adopt the inverted instruction. Given Zinchenko can be something of a defensive liability, and the Gunners have looked so impressive at both ends of the pitch with both White and Kiwior on the field, Arteta may be guiding his team in a direction that makes them less reliant upon the 59-cap Ukraine international. Given Zinchenko’s persistent injury concerns, it may be wise for the Spanish coach to reduce his reliance upon the player in any case.

However, Zinchenko is still a key figure in the Arsenal dressing room. Saliba has now shed some light on what kind of a character the full-back is behind the scenes at the Emirates Stadium.

What is Oleksandr Zinchenko really like?

When asked in an interview with Stadium Astro who the biggest prankster in the Arsenal squad is, the 22-year-old named Zinchenko. Gabriel Magalhaes concurred with this choice. Saliba then noted that Zinchenko “does everything. Jokes, he talks a lot…he’s so funny…a good person.”

The importance of squad harmony and a happy dressing room cannot be overstated, and Zinchenko clearly does his bit to lift the mood at Arsenal. This will become even more important in the coming weeks, as the pressure will ramp up on the north London club as the Premier League title race intensifies.