Arsenal star Oleksandr Zinchenko bizarrely picks ‘injury prone’ Arsenal teammate over Ballon d’Or favorite Rodri as best holding midfielder he’s ever played with
Oleksandr Zinchenko's surreal choice leaves Manchester United legend stunned. Rodri takes backseat in his judgment.
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Rodri, Oleksandr Zinchenko, image courtesy: X
Arsenal defender, Oleksandr Zinchenko believes that Thomas Partey is better than Manchester City star, Rodri and Manchester United midfielder, Casemiro. Going by the track record of Partey, he had a decent season in the 2022-23 campaign but the last season left his performance in more of a mixed territory.
With the deployment of Declan Rice as a holding midfielder for Arsenal, somehow Partey has drifted in and out of form in his new position of an unorthodox inverted right-back. Talking on the Five YouTube channel, Oleksandr Zinchenko explained why he would pick Thomas Partey over Casemiro and Rodri on any given day. In fact, such was his answer that former Manchester United defender, Rio Ferdinand was stunned and he decided to leave the room in bewilderment.
I don't want to say something bad. Casemiro is a world-class player, five Champions Leagues. But if I had to choose, it would be Partey. I had the debate in my head, who is the best holding midfielder I have ever played with - it was between Fernandinho, Rodri and Partey. It is a tough one.Oleksandr Zinchenko told the Five YouTube channel
Rio Ferdinand, who was also in the same room, iterated that Partey is great but somehow the fact that he is better than Rodri didn’t sit well with him. Partey has already made 188 appearances in La Liga, while scoring 16 goals in them followed by his arrival to the Premier League where he has played 118 matches for Arsenal, smashing six goals in the process.
Rodri, on the contrary, has been an artist in the Manchester City midfield. In the Premier League, he has played 257 matches, while scoring 26 goals and knitting together 30 assists.
Thomas Partey is being wanted by Juventus and Atletico Madrid
As per the latest rumors, Atletico Madrid have expressed interest in reconciling with Thomas Partey while Italian stalwarts, Juventus also wants the Ghanian midfielder in their side. However, the Gunners aren’t exactly willing to let go of Thomas Partey as Mikel Arteta said back in April that the midfielder is still an important component of the side.
Partey has been give ample game time as he played 270 minutes of football in the first three games of the season. In fact, out of the starts that he got, he scored an important goal as well, validating the fact that he can still be a crucial player for the Gunners. Arsenal is next slated to play Tottenham Hotspur on 15th September and keep their unbeaten streak alive.
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Rohit Ganguly
(509 Articles Published)