Zinchenko on the ‘worst season' of his career: ‘A player who doesn't play is nothing'

New York Times

a day ago

This time a year ago, Oleksandr Zinchenko started Arsenal's opening game of the 2024-25 season against Wolves.
He was involved in the build-up to Kai Havertz's opener, playing in Bukayo Saka, who crossed for the German international to score. When Zinchenko was substituted in the 69th minute to warm applause, he had no idea he would be dropped from the team the following week. Zinchenko would not start another Premier League game until December.
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'Unlike the year before, injuries were not to blame,' Zinchenko writes in a new chapter for his updated autobiography, Believe. '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.'
Ahead of its publication on August 14, The Athletic is able to share extracts from the new chapter in which Zinchenko addresses his absence from the first team last season, the ongoing conflict in his native Ukraine, and Arsenal's failure to lift silverware in 2024-25.
To overcome his previous injury issues, Zinchenko worked with a specialist who designed an exercise programme specifically to work on his troublesome calf. 'He did a couple of sessions with me and came up with a gym regime that really sorted it out,' writes the 28-year-old. 'It made a massive difference.'
But, despite his improved fitness record, Zinchenko found himself regularly left on the sidelines, starting just five of Arsenal's Premier League fixtures last season.
'I was basically out of the starting XI altogether, bar a few isolated matches,' says Zinchenko. 'In pure personal terms, it was easily the worst season I ever experienced as a professional.'
Having previously been an integral part of Mikel Arteta's plans, Zinchenko was forced to grapple with a diminishing status within the squad.
'A player who doesn't play is nothing,' he writes. '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.
'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.
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'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.'
Zinchenko's absence from the team affected those around him, too — including his wife, Vlada. 'She doesn't want to show that she's affected, for fear of upsetting me even more,' he writes. 'But every once in a while, the mask slips.'
On one occasion, Vlada took Zinchenko's two young daughters to the Emirates Stadium for a game. 'Eva, the older one at three and a half, says to Leia, 'Look, there's Daddy!'. Leia looks all over the pitch but can't find me. And then Eva points and says, 'No, he's not playing. He's on the bench'.
'Hearing that pained me a lot. It made me feel ashamed. I'm quite grateful that the girls are not yet at an age where they're exposed to social media and don't have to read nasty stuff about their dad who can't get into the Arsenal team anymore.'
The primary reason for Zinchenko's omission was the arrival of fresh competition: in the summer of 2024, Arsenal spent £42million ($54m) on Italy international Riccardo Calafiori. Perhaps even more significantly, academy graduate Myles Lewis-Skelly developed rapidly into a first-team full-back.
'He came in and made the left-­back position his,' says Zinchenko of teenager Lewis-Skelly. 'He's a special talent. Such a good player. What he's done is unbe­lievable, really.'
Despite his inevitable disappointment, Zinchenko looked to support Lewis-Skelly in any way he could, saying he congratulated the teenager when he was called up to the England senior side in March for the first time. 'And I told him, 'You've got everything. With your ability, you will be at the top level for the next 10 years or even more, you will be one of the best players in the world, not just in the club but also in the national team'.
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'I've heard stories of older players ganging up on youngsters to defend their territory, the sort of stuff you see in animal documentaries. I will never, ever undermine a team­-mate of mine. That's not me.'
That generosity is typical of the attitude Zinchenko has shown since losing his place.
'I'm a professional and it's my job to get on with it,' he writes. 'At Arsenal, we don't have many egos, everyone understands their role, their duties and responsibilities. I'm not the guy that comes in, shows a bad face and spreads bad vibes, I still try to lighten the mood with a few jokes and make people smile. I tried my very best to stay positive inside.
'I did everything asked of me and was happy to play in any position for the subs' XI who stand in for the next opponents in training. Maybe some players might react differently, they might feel slighted having to pretend they're centre-­backs when they're wingers, or the other way around.
'But not me. It doesn't bother me at all. I see it as an opportunity to learn and to show that I will do whatever is necessary to play my part.'
Zinchenko frames Lewis-Skelly's emergence as a challenge to be overcome.
'Yes, he plays in the same position as me,' says Zinchenko. 'But I still need to acknowledge his talent, applaud him and help him, if only in a little way, to achieve his potential.
'He pushes me to become a better version of myself and to improve further. These are the demands at this level. If someone's better than you, you will be dropped. There's no option but to keep your head straight and to look forward.'
The Ukrainian playmaker has been linked with a move away from Arsenal this summer, but as yet no transfer has materialised. He has one year remaining on his contract in north London and is open to moving for the right opportunity — whether now, or in 12 months' time as a free transfer.
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Despite his professionalism, Zinchenko will eventually have to put his career first.
'I've never been a player who runs to the manager, com­plains or asks tonnes of questions,' explains Zinchenko in his book. 'I can only blame myself. If I don't play, it means that I didn't work hard enough, didn't do enough, didn't play well enough.
'Let's see what time will bring. Because I still want to play football. I want to enjoy the game and come back with a smile on my face in the evening.'
Extracted from Believe: The Autobiography by Oleksandr Zinchenko (Bloomsbury £10.99)
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