In spite of reports of January interest, Arsenal never received any kind of formal offer for Oleksandr Zinchenko’s services in the winter window.
Oleksandr Zinchenko was seemingly among a very small number of players Arsenal would have considered selling in the January transfer window, with reports suggesting Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund both had at least some level of interest in him.
Yet Sami Mokbel reports for the Daily Mail that despite that interest, neither club reached out to Arsenal in an official capacity in January.
Indeed, the Gunners didn’t receive any formal permanent offers at all for Zinchenko, with the club uninterested in a potential loan move. Atletico and Dortmund wanted a loan, which perhaps explains why they never formalised their interest.
Mokbel adds that Zinchenko will be available for transfer again in the summer, so this may not be the end of the story. But if Atletico or Dortmund really were interested, you’d think they would have pushed a bit harder.
With Kieran Tierney staying at Arsenal until the summer, the door was certainly open for Zinchenko in January.
Myles Lewis-Skelly and Riccardo Calafiori are Mikel Arteta’s favoured left-back options anyway, and Jakub Kiwior, Jurrien Timber, and Takehiro Tomiyasu are all capable of filling in as well as Tierney.
As well as the Daily Mail, James McNicholas reported for The Athletic this week that Arsenal only fielded interest in a loan move for Zinchenko in January, with the club blocking such a transfer.
Zinchenko has made 13 appearances for Arsenal this season, playing less than 10 minutes of the team’s last 10 Premier League matches.