Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne has now been sharing his thoughts on an Arsenal player who joined the club back in 2022.
Having been locked in a title-race with Arsenal for the past two seasons, De Bruyne must be very familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of Mikel Arteta’s squad by now.
And in what could be Pep Guardiola’s last season in the Premier League, De Bruyne may also be a year away from leaving England, possibly preparing to duel with Arsenal for the last time.
Of course, Arteta and Edu will be much more focused on matters at the Emirates Stadium.
And although Arteta may be personally determined to beat his former boss to the league title before he departs, his primary concern will surely just be to deliver trophies that Arsenal’s recent progress deserves.
That being said, this summer’s transfer window will be crucial for the Gunners, who need to conduct a mini squad overhaul.
And perhaps as part of their plans, Arsenal could sell Oleksandr Zinchenko, who De Bruyne has just been praising.
Kevin De Bruyne says Arsenal defender Oleksandr Zinchenko is a ‘leader’
After drawing with Ukraine on Wednesday evening, De Bruyne’s Belgium eliminated Zinchenko and his teammates from Euro 2024.
Ukraine were eliminated despite achieving four points from their three games, which was good enough for several other teams.
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And given Zinchenko will now be heading home, perhaps for a holiday before Arsenal’s pre-season begins, De Bruyne did share some nice words for his old teammate after full-time.
Speaking via BeanymanSports, De Bruyne said that ‘Zinna’ had been excellent for Arsenal – a statement a few Gunners fans may now disagree with.
De Bruyne said: “I love Zinna. Zinna is [an] unbelievable guy. I played with him for five years and he’s done an incredible job for us at City and then he went to Arsenal and he’s doing really good.
“I think he’s one of the leaders of Ukraine, he’s a close friend and I wish him all the best.”
Of course, Zinchenko dropped to the bench for Ukraine last night in their decisive game, with Everton’s Vitaliy Mykolenko starting at left-back.
Interestingly, there was no place in midfield for the Arsenal man either, who has regularly captained his country.
A tough period for the 27-year-old who cost Arsenal £32m in 2022, and now isn’t justifying that price tag.