Arsenal star Saka outlines major Guardiola mistake amid Man City title race
Arsenal star Bukayo Saka explained how Oleksandr Zinchenko’s arrival has altered the team, proving that Pep Guardiola made a mistake by letting the defender leave last summer. The Ukraine international has helped transform Arsenal from outsiders in the top four to genuine title contenders.
Under Mikel Arteta, the 26-year-old has been an integral part of the team’s continued success as an inverted full-back. A few days ago, Zinchenko revealed that he made a private promise to join the Spaniard after he left Manchester City several years ago.
He told the Daily Mail: “I remember when Mikel was leaving City, I didn’t hold my emotions. I couldn’t because this guy was so special to me. He taught me a lot, as a human being he was incredible and the way he was working with us young players after every single training session, the advice he was giving everyone, was something incredibly important for me
“I said to my circle: ‘If one day I’m going to leave City and I’m going to stay in the Premier League, it will be only one manager: Mikel Arteta.'”
Zinchenko fulfilled his desire by joining Arsenal in the summer, a move that is increasingly viewed as a wise investment by the north London club. Consequently, Guardiola’s action in the title race could be a catastrophic error, as Saka outlined.
The Arsenal winger said ahead of England’s European Championship qualifier with Ukraine tonight (Sunday): “Zinchenko has brought quality – but he’s brought so much more. You can see how he plays and how he controls the game. He’s an outstanding player. He has great leadership qualities, so he’s really helping us on all fronts.
“They [Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus] have brought that winning mentality to us as players who have been there and won the league. In difficult moments they know how it feels, they can encourage us because we have a lot of young players. They really help us with the mental side of things.”
Arsenal star Saka outlines major Guardiola mistake amid Man City title race
