Transfer hint? Forgotten Arsenal man Oleksandr Zinchenko reflects on 'worst season' of his career & insists Mikel Arteta 'no longer believed in him'

Oleksandr Zinchenko Arsenal 2025-26

Arsenal's Oleksandr Zinchenko described the 2024-25 season as the 'worst season' of his career, as he claimed that Mikel Arteta stopped believing in him. The Ukrainian defender started in only five Premier League matches throughout the campaign, including the opener against Wolves, despite limited injury issues.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Zinchenko claimed that it was hard for him to digest that he was a regular member of Arteta's starting line-ups only a few seasons ago, but things drastically changed in the 2024-25 season. The defender claimed that the head coach no longer believed in him as he got very little chance to prove himself. 

Arsenal FC v PSV Eindhoven - UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Round of 16 Second Leg

WHAT ZINCHENKO SAID

The Athletic quoted some excerpts from the Gunners star's new autobiography, 'Believe', which read: "Unlike the year before, injuries were not to blame. A small problem with my calf kept me out of action in the month of September. A knock here and there. But I was otherwise fit for most of the campaign. I was basically out of the starting XI altogether, bar a few isolated matches. 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 an 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. Sitting on the bench in the Premier League for a very generous wage packet is obviously still a privilege, the kind of problem that billions of people on this planet would swap their much tougher lives for in a heartbeat. Trust me, as a Ukrainian, I’m aware of that. Every single minute. But every footballer started playing because they love to play the game. A big part of your life is missing without it. Imagine this little boy who’s dedicated his entire existence to becoming good at one particular thing and then finds at 28 that he’s essentially no longer needed, that there are others who can do the job for him. It’s not a nice feeling."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

GiveMeSport reported last month that Fulham had shown interest in signing Zinchenko this summer. Arsenal were open to selling him, with a reported £15 million ($19.8m) price tag placed on the Ukrainian, however, the Cottagers are yet to come up with a formal bid.

Mikel Arteta Arsenal

WHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?

Arteta's men are all set to play their first match of the 2025-26 Premier League campaign on Sunday as they travel to Old Traffod to face Manchester United.