Oleksandr Zinchenko has said that Arsenal will need to be at 100 per cent in every game this season if they are to beat Manchester City to the Premier League title.
The Gunners took Pep Guardiola’s men to the final day last season, but ultimately came up short in their hunt for a first league title since 2004, despite scoring the most goals and winning the most games in their Premier League history. It was the second successive season that Arsenal have run City close for the title, and speaking in Los Angeles as his team begin their pre-season tour of the United States, Zinchenko admitted that his team could not afford to slip up even once if they want to come out winners this time.
“How much City pushed us extra in the last two years, it shows how demanding the league is and where the level is,” he said. “I used to say the Premier League is the toughest in the world. Every single opponent can beat each other and every game is like a final here. This is not just words, this is true.
“Even in the beginning of the season, you can lose some games and drop some points and think you will be back. But these kinds of points, you can just miss in the last period of the season, then you try to bite your elbows but the elbows are too far and it is too late. It shows how demanding this league is. You need to be at 100 or even more in every single game.
“I don’t think we need to copy someone like City. Of course at the moment they are probably the best team in the world. If you look at the stats and titles they have won in the last couple of years, it is amazing. You always need to look at the best and try to but not be like them, we need to be on top of them.
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“Mikel and his staff are doing an amazing job here. I have known him for a while of course, since I was at City. I always knew he would be an amazing manager. The development of the club inside, you can see the progress. I know people outside the club can see it but from the inside as well. Arsenal are on the right way. I really hope and believe in the close future Arsenal can achieve a lot of good things.”
Zinchenko was a stalwart in the Arsenal starting XI after his arrival from City two summers ago. Last season though, he found his position at left back under threat due to a mixture of poor form, injuries and competition for places from the likes of Jakub Kiwior and Takehiro Tomiyasu.
With Jurrien Timber making his return from an ACL injury, and Riccardo Calafiori close to securing his arrival in north London, Zinchenko could find a regular spot in the team even hard to come by this time around. He is relishing the challenge though, and is keen to help out the team in whatever capacity he can.
“Wherever the manager is going to use me at the club, I will be happy to do my best and give my all,” he said. “It will be amazing competition, not just for my position but the others as well. That is what you need in a team that is going to achieve a lot of things and win a lot of titles. You need to have this competition. This is the way when we push each other. We are all professionals here, when we step on the pitch we all just need to do our best and our job, 100 per cent, then once we step off the pitch we can be one family again.”
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