Chelsea ace Mudryk likens Arsenal star Zinchenko to Zidane after Sevilla win
Chelsea winger Mykhaylo Mudryk has jokingly compared Oleksandr Zinchenko to Zinedine Zidane following Arsenal’s win over Sevilla. The Gunners star came close to scoring a volley on Wednesday and his international team-mate saw similarities to Zidane.
Zinchenko came on at half-time of the Champions League clash at the Emirates. He replaced Takehiro Tomiyasu, who was not risked after feeling discomfort in the first half.
Arsenal led 1-0 at the time and made it two through Bukayo Saka in the 64th minute. Shortly after, Zinchenko looked to make it three when he left fly with a volley from the edge of the box.
The full-back met the shot sweetly but it was beaten away by Sevilla goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic. It would have been Zinchenko’s second goal in an Arsenal shirt and without doubt his best.
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He clearly liked the shot, posting a picture of him unleashing the volley on his Instagram page. And within minutes Mudryk was in the comments, referencing Zidane by writing: “Zizou?” with a surprised-face emoji.
Zinchenko and Mudryk are good friends from international duty despite playing for rival clubs. Zinchenko wanted Mudryk to join Arsenal in January and a deal looked set to happen.
But Chelsea snuck in and blew the Gunners’ offer out of the water to sign him from Shakhtar Donetsk. Mudryk has largely struggled in the 10 months since arriving in the Premier League.
He did score in Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal last month, catching David Raya out with a flukey cross that looped over the goalkeeper’s head. Mudryk cost the Blues £88million and Zinchenko claimed earlier this season that the price tag is part of the reason behind his struggles.
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But the 26-year-old fully expects his compatriot to reach his potential at Stamford Bridge. Zinchenko told Vibe with Five: “Honestly, the sky is the limit. The quality he has is incredible.
“The thing is guys, I know it’s price tag, pressure, media. I used to speak with him a lot, you know? He came from a different league, from the Ukrainian league and this Ukrainian league, at the moment, unfortunately, is not even that level which was 10 years ago, when all Brazilians were attracted – Fernandinho, Willian – that was a good league.
“But now, he came straight away to Chelsea and you want him to see straight away? Please! It takes time! I don’t wish him this against Arsenal, but quality, oof!”
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