Oleksandr Zinchenko Arsenal exit plunged into doubt as Mikel Arteta decision questioned

Oleksandr Zinchenko's exit from Arsenal this summer is far from guaranteed, but Mikel Arteta has lost faith in the versatile Ukrainian, Gunners expert Charles Watts believes.

The former Manchester City man was hailed as a transformative arrival following his 2022 arrival from the Etihad, but three years down the line, he is now nothing more than a fringe player in North London.

Zinchenko is also about to enter the last 12 months of his contract at the Emirates Stadium, raising the prospect of a sale if no new deal can be agreed, and there are not thought to be any talks ongoing to prolong the partnership.

Serie A giants AC Milan are understood to be in talks over a summer deal for the 28-year-old, whom Watts can envisage sticking around until his deal expires, but he also affirmed that Arsenal would be happy to sell for the right price.

“I don't think it's guaranteed by any means," Watts told Sports Mole when asked if a Zinchenko exit was inevitable. "He needs some convincing, he’s only got a year left. If you stick out that year, he'd have a hell of a lot of options available to him as a free transfer.

"Arsenal are open to letting Zinchenko go, they were open to him going in January, it didn't happen. I could easily envisage a future where he stays around this summer and isn't really too interested in moves away.

Arsenal would be "quite happy" to sell Milan-linked Zinchenko

“Those clubs who come in for him have to convince him of a move. Milan's a really attractive proposition, it'd be a great place to go and play your football, latter stages of your career. Granit Xhaka might be heading there as well. But he is happy in London, he’s on a lot of money in London. Whether Milan could get anywhere close to that, or whether Zinchenko would be willing to reduce his wages to such an extent to make that move happen, I don't know.

“I certainly wouldn't sit here right now and say he will definitely go this summer. I think Arsenal would be quite happy for him to go. But everyone has to agree. It's not just a case of Arsenal wanting him to go, the player has to agree as well. I think we're quite a way off that at the moment.”

After poaching both Gabriel Jesus and Zinchenko from Man City in 2022, Arsenal witnessed both ex-Sky Blues play pivotal roles in their unexpectedly quick rise to genuine Premier League title challengers, as the latter particularly impressed with his line-breaking passes and ability to invert into midfield.

Zinchenko also began the 2023-24 season as Arsenal's number one left-back, but by the end of the campaign, Arteta preferred the more defensively competent Takehiro Tomiyasu on that side of the defence.

Even though the luckless Tomiyasu is still months away from returning from a knee injury, Zinchenko has been bumped further down the pecking order by Riccardo Calafiori and Myles Lewis-Skelly, the latter of whom unexpectedly shot to fame in 2024-25.

As a result. Zinchenko was restricted to a mere seven starts across the Premier League and Champions League, but even factoring in his defensive weaknesses, Watts still feels that his skills were not utilised enough in 2024-25.

Arteta argument "breaks down" given Zinchenko game time

“Arteta just lost trust in him a lot," he added. "Zinchenko was really badly underused last season. Arteta talks about wanting a stronger squad and being able to rotate. That argument breaks down a little bit when you've got a really experienced player like Zinchenko sitting on the bench all the time.

"I feel like he could have played a lot more last season, whether that be in midfield or at left back at times. But I do think Arteta just lost his trust in him, defensively especially. And then you've got the emergence of Myles Lewis-Skelly.

“When Zinchenko first broke into that team, him and Jesus just changed Arsenal so dramatically. Zinchenko inverting, no one really knew what was going on there. It took them a while to get used to it. Those early months when the opposition just weren't really used to it, I think Arsenal really benefited from that. Then everyone adjusted and started to expose Zinchenko because they'd drift into the middle, then bang, hit it over to the right-hand side, use the space that he's vacated.

“He got caught out a lot of times. And I think ultimately, Arteta just began to lose faith in him. But then suddenly Lewis-Skelly came on board, who did what Zinchenko did in terms of coming into the middle but was also very, very strong defensively. At that stage, that was it for Zinchenko. But I still think he was underused last season, especially in midfield, in that position he plays for Ukraine. There were plenty of opportunities for Zinchenko to play there last season and Arteta just didn't do it.”

Zinchenko's 23 appearances in the 2024-25 season brought just one goal and one assist, giving him a total of three strikes and five helpers from 91 matches in a Gunners kit since 2022.

While the Ukrainian's Arsenal career is seemingly over, Lewis-Skelly's is only just beginning, as the 18-year-old is now understood to have agreed a new long-term deal at the Emirates Stadium.

> Click here to listen to the full discussion on Zinchenko's Arsenal future

Written by
Ben Knapton