Oleksandr Zinchenko leaves a unique legacy in Pep Guardiola era at Man City

Aston Villa stunned the Etihad on the final day of the Premier League season when they took a shock lead against Manchester City on a day that was supposed to be a coronation.

As some tried to process how Pep Guardiola's side had fallen behind, Oleksandr Zinchenko was already on his feet from the bench demanding that the crowd and players lift themselves. If that were not enough, he then replaced Fernandinho at half-time and was instrumental in overturning a 2-0 deficit to mean a fourth Premier League title in five years.

With Zinchenko about to seal a £32m move to Arsenal, that is about as fitting an ending you could write for a boy who refused to accept defeat. Whether he was in or out of the team, the Ukrainian passionately gave everything he had to the football club.

Also read: Zinchenko's incredible unseen Ukraine support between Man City matches

Zinchenko's footballing abilities should not be underestimated. Guardiola would not have kept him around the squad for so long if he didn't think he had world-class ability on the ball and the intelligence not only to adapt to a new position in left-back but also to slip into midfield at a moment's notice — as he did for a big Champions League game against PSG last season.

However, the defining characteristic of the 25-year-old's six years at the Etihad will be a dogged determination that drove the belief in his ability. There were numerous summer transfer windows where he could have left — City accepted a bid from Wolves for him in 2018 yet he refused to go. And even this year it has not been a simple decision to leave; he considered staying even if Marc Cucurella was brought in.

That refusal to give up — a quality that every elite footballer needs, but some have more