Mikel Arteta reveals his plan for new Arsenal signing Oleksandr Zinchenko

Mikel Arteta hailed the exceptional talents of new signing Oleksandr Zinchenko who is set to complete the formalities of his transfer from Manchester City today.

The Ukraine international will join the Gunners in a £32million deal and watched his new club from the stands, alongside technical director Edu, as Arteta’s side continued their flawless pre-season form with a 3-1 win over Orlando City last night.

‘Yeah, as you’ve seen he is here,’ said Arteta, who usually shies away from commenting on transfer speculation, no matter how close a deal is to being concluded.

‘There are still a few formalities to get everything completed but we’re really happy to have him.

‘I know the player really well, he’s an exceptional footballer and he is someone that is going to bring as well another competitive edge to that dressing room.’

As well as a winning mentality, Zinchenko will add further versatility to a squad that will benefit from his ability to play as a left-back, as he did for the majority of his City career, where Arsenal require cover for Kieran Tierney, and in central midfield.

Asked in which position Zinchenko is likely to feature in his side, Arteta said: ‘Both, he can play in both.

‘He was a natural No.10 early in his career and we converted him into a left back which can do a lot of things that we want in our way of playing.

‘That versatility is something that is going to be important for the team because we have players in that position who are more specific full back so I’m really happy.’

Versatility also represents key attributes in fellow headline summer recruits Fabio Vieira and Gabriel Jesus and Arteta believes the ability to play in numerous positions is fundamental to the way he wants his team to play,