The defender received such an opportunity for the second time in his club career.
On Saturday, February 25, within the framework of the 25th round of the English Premier League, “Leicester” and “Arsenal” met. The match took place at the King Power Stadium and ended with a 1:0 victory for the Gunners.
London midfielder Gabriel Martinelli scored the only goal in the 46th minute of the match. The successful transfer to the asset was recorded by the team’s winter rookie, who was bought after the failure of Mykhailo Mudryk’s transfer, Leandro Trossard.
This match was significant for the Ukrainian player of the Gunners Oleksandr Zinchenko. The football player led his team to the match against “Leicester” with the captain’s armband – this happened to him for the first time during the period of his performances as part of “Arsenal”.
As noted by PA Sport journalist Mark Mann-Bryans, the team captain, Norwegian Martin Edegore, decided to hand over the armband to Zinchenko.
Probably, Zinchenko’s captain’s armband was timed to coincide with the anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Russia on the territory of Ukraine. The defender also played in this status at the beginning of March last year, but in Manchester City. These are his only two matches in his club career, when he led the team on the field.
The Ukrainian played almost the entire match. He was replaced by Takehiro Tomiyasu, who had already compensated for the second half. Zinchenko received the second highest rating from WhoScored in the match at 7.4. Only Trossard has a better score (7.5).
“Leicester” – “Arsenal” 0:1
Goal: Martinelli (46)
“Leicester”: Ward – Castagne (Pereira, 85), Suttar, Fass, Christiansen – Prat (Daka, 77), Ndidi (Sumare, 77), Dewsbury Hall – Tete (Thielemans, 62), Iheanacho (Vardy, 62) , Barnes
“Arsenal”: Ramsdale – White, Salibe, Gabriel, Zinchenko (Tomiasu, 90+3) – Edegore (Party, 84), Jorginho, Xhaka – Saka, Trossard (Nketia, 70), Martinelli
Warning: Martinelli (38)
It is worth noting that after a series of four matches without a win, “Arsenal” is already winning the second match in a row. Mikel Arteta’s men continue to lead the championship standings, five points ahead of reigning English champions Manchester City.
Zinchenko played 17 matches in this EPL draw and scored one goal and one assist. This is his first season at Arsenal, as he moved from Manchester City in the summer for 35 million euros.
