Zinchenko's private Arsenal dressing room gesture speaks volumes

Oleksandr Zinchenko's on-pitch qualities divide opinion among the Arsenal faithful, but there can be no debate about his influence off it.

The former Manchester City ace is a huge presence in the Gunners dressing room and one recent story from fellow Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior sums up Zinchenko's character. Unlike the Ukraine international who arrived with four Premier League titles under his belt, Kiwior was unknown to the majority of the Emirates regulars.

Signed from Serie A outfit Spezia in January of last year, it has taken a while for Kiwior to establish himself as an Arsenal player. However, in terms of establishing himself within the squad, that didn't take too long at all, thanks to some help from Zinchenko.

Speaking to the club's media team, Kiwior shed light on Zinchenko's character by revealing how the ex-City ace helped him meet the rest of his team-mates before he'd even trained with his new side.

"What was really good for me [at the start when I joined Arsenal] was when Alex Zinchenko introduced me to the whole squad on my first day here," Kiwior explained. "It was funny because I was at Emirates Stadium to watch us play Manchester United the day before I was due to go to the training ground to sign.

"After the game, Zinchenko was down by the pitch waiting to do interviews, and he saw me there. So he introduced himself and said, ‘Welcome to Arsenal, have you met the boys yet?’ I told him I hadn’t, so he took me into the dressing room and introduced me to everyone.

"This was just after we had won a huge match! He made it great for me, because of course I was nervous about meeting everyone, but he made it easy. He went around and made sure I chatted to everyone."

Kiwior and Zinchenko are currently battling it out for the status of first-choice left-back at the moment. Though the former is perhaps more versatile and can be played as a central defender as well, it is clear Arteta currently views him as a good option at left-back.

The Gunners boss even dropped Zinchenko in favour of Kiwior for the recent 4-3 win away at Luton. For now, the more experienced of the two remains on top in the pecking order, but Kiwior, 23, has impressed when called upon.

It is a testament to Zinchenko's leadership qualities that he played such a part in Kiwior's early Arsenal days despite both fighting for minutes in the same role.