Oleksandr Zinchenko already has Arsenal fans purring at his talents just two games into his Gunners career.
The Ukrainian international started for the second game in succession against Leicester City on Saturday as Arsenal got their Premier League campaign off to a perfect start with another victory. Gabriel Jesus was the star of the show as he bagged two goals and two assists at the Emirates Stadium, but his fellow former Manchester City teammate proved to be the leading support act.
Zinchenko was given licence to drift inside from his left-back role into central midfield on a number of occasions, continually switching with Granit Xhaka to cause Leicester a headache all afternoon. But it was while Zinchenko was on the left flank that he produced a moment of class which left the Gunners supporters in awe.
Receiving a pass on the touchline to his left foot from defender Gabriel, Zinchenko showed close control to drag it towards himself under intense pressure from Leicester full-back Timothy Castagne. Facing in-field, Zinchenko then used his right back-heel to send the ball down the line to meet the run of supporting colleague Gabriel Martinelli perfectly.
The move did not result in a goal, but Zinchenko's performance was a real positive for Arsenal on a day they scored four and twice fended off Leicester's attempts of a comeback. Jesus opened the scoring in phenomenal fashion, curling a sublime effort from the left side of the box into the far top corner of the net.
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His second came just minutes later and was a real poachers effort, heading in at the back post from a set piece. Jesus started hunting for a hat-trick and almost succeeded after finding himself in a one-on-one with Leicester keeper Danny Ward, who made a solid stop to prevent any further first-half damage as Wilfred Ndidi put in a sliding tackle to bring down the Brazilian.
Leicester thought they had won a spot-kick after Aaron Ramsdale made contact with Jamie Vardy, but the penalty award was chalked off after a VAR check. The second half got off to an unfortunate start for the hosts as William Saliba cost them a clean sheet with an early own goal.
But Arsenal responded instantly and restored their advantage less than two minutes later. Ward was unable to hold on to a long ball from Ben White and it proved costly after Granit Xhaka pounced and fired home from the centre of the six-yard box.
Substitute Kelechi Iheanacho set up James Maddison down the right for the resilient Foxes’ second, but just as before the Gunners responded within a minute, Gabriel Martinelli sending in a strike to score in three consecutive Premier League games for the first time and seal the three points.
The win keeps Arsenal among the sides at the top of the table with a trip to Bournemouth to come next weekend before the visit of Fulham the following Saturday.
