Arsenal Star Zinchenko Gives Arteta Timely Injury Boost Ahead of Community Shield Against Man City

• Oleksandr Zinchenko missed the closing stages for Arsenal last season due to injury
• The Ukrainian has yet to play a minute of pre-season as he steps up his recovery
• He has confirmed his readiness for the new season after playing in the Game4Ukraine charity match

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will be delighted with the news that his player Oleksandr Zinchenko has declared himself fit and ready for the new season.

The Ukrainian missed the closing stages of last season due to injury and could only watch helplessly as the team capitulated and lost the Premier League title to his former team, Manchester City.

Arsenal went empty-handed last season despite putting up brilliant displays and topping the league table for most of the year but will hope to take it a notch higher this year.

Their season kicks off today in the Community Shield against Man City. It is not considered a major trophy in England, but it will be a good test against the best team in the country.

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Zinchenko issues fitness update

Zinchenko led Team Yellow against Andriy Shevchenko's Team Blue in the Game4Ukraine charity match at Stamford Bridge yesterday and spoke on his fitness shortly after.

"Fitness is good, I feel much better," he said via Hayters TV. "I started to train with the team yesterday. I'd love to be ready for tomorrow, but I don't know yet, the manager is going to decide."

"Unfortunately, I missed the pre-season, and now I need to get back to my best for the season," he added.

He started the game but was substituted in the 11th minute by legendary Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger who coached his team.

TalkSPORT reported that it was a relief for the fans to see him in action and to be subbed off early to risk further injuries as they hope to go again for the title this season.

How Arteta deploys Zinchenko

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Sports Brief reported on Arteta admitting to copying Guardiola's tactics to deploy Zinchenko after the Ukrainian switched from Man City to the Emirates Stadium.

The 25-year-old is versatile and can play as a full-back, a midfielder or a winger, which helps his manager to utilise him in a floating full-back role, drifting more into midfield and further up the pitch to assist in the attack.