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Arsenal star hands in transfer request after emotional admission
Tom Weber
- Updated: 15 Aug 2025 18:54 BST
- 4 min read
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Oleksandr Zinchenko has requested to leave Arsenal amid interest from Napoli and AC Milan, according to a report.
The Ukraine international has endured a significant fall from grace in North London in recent years. After joining the club in 2022, Zinchenko was initially a key player for Mikel Arteta, but the Spaniard's side has since evolved beyond the need for the versatile left-back.
Injuries have played their part, but even when fully fit, Zinchenko struggled for minutes last season, which left him incredibly frustrated. “I was basically out of the starting XI altogether, bar a few isolated matches,” he wrote in a new chapter for his autobiography entitled Believe.
Current ETV
Oleksandr Zinchenko
D (L)
Arsenal
Oleksandr Zinchenko
D (L)
Arsenal
ETV Range
€15.4M - €18.8M
“In pure personal terms, it was easily the worst season I ever experienced as a professional. A player who doesn’t play is nothing. It’s one thing when your body lets you down. That can happen.
"But going from one of the established players of the side to unused sub is much harder to deal with. The sense of rejection you feel if your manager no longer believes in you can take the stuffing out of you, even if you’re the most resilient guy on the planet."
Zinchenko wants to leave Arsenal
FootballTransfers exclusively revealed in July that Arteta has informed Zinchenko that he wants to keep him this summer, but Il Mattino now claims that the player has 'confided' his desire to leave the Gunners.
The report asserts that Napoli and AC Milan are battling for his signature, with any deal likely to be an initial loan. In fact, it is claimed that Arsenal would be expected to keep paying around half of Zinchenko's salary.
We understand that Arteta is willing to risk Zinchenko running down his expiring contract, but this would obviously only make sense if he could actually use the player this season. Loaning him out, paying his salary and then losing him for nothing would be an odd decision.
It is stated that Zinchenko has been offered to several clubs around Italy and Europe, and that Napoli boss Antonio Conte is a big fan of the Ukrainian and his excellent ability in possession.
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