Oleksandr Zinchenko has revealed that Gabriel Jesus came to his house to try and help convince him to join Arsenal.
Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko both joined Arsenal from Manchester City in the summer of 2022, with Jesus completing a move in early July before Zinchenko followed suit later in the month.
Speaking to Footballers Lives on TikTok this week, Zinchenko revealed that his former City teammate even turned up at his house to help convince him to make the same switch.
“Mikel came to my house with [the] general director,” Zinchenko recalled. “We had a conversation, the way they see me in the club you know, which position and stuff like this. The project of the club, the structure, and everything.
“And then we were sitting outside because it was such nice weather, suddenly someone rings my bell.
“I said ‘sorry guys, I need to open the door’ to see maybe it’s a delivery or someone else. And there was just Gabriel Jesus, behind my gate!
“And I just said ‘nah, this is a joke’, you know? Secret agent (Jesus) came to my house and we had a good conversation, all of us, that was a really positive one.”
Arsenal fans will be delighted that Jesus and Zinchenko both ended up joining the club, with the duo playing a key part in the club’s rise up the table in 2022/23.
Zinchenko helped to transform Arsenal’s left-hand side, playing the inverted left-back role, whilst Jesus added a spark to the front line, directly contributing to 18 goals in his first campaign.
The big regrets from their debut seasons in north London will be the failure to win the Premier League and their respective injury setbacks.
Both Jesus and Zinchenko only made 33 appearances in all competitions last season, with a knee injury and a series of calf problems keeping them out respectively.
The pair underlined the impact they can have on the team against Manchester United, with Zinchenko making his first start of the season and Jesus scoring in his second substitute appearance of the campaign.
With the return to the Champions League and the north London derby coming up later this month, there will be plenty more opportunities to make the fans happy now they’re fit again.