Arsenal fullback Oleksandr Zinchenko has received his category B coaching licence from UEFA as he prepares for life after football.
THE LOWDOWN: MAKING STRIDES
The former Manchester City man, who turned 26 on Thursday, received the licence as a birthday gift alongside 27 other Ukrainians. the qualification allows Zinchenko to manage a Ukrainian Second League team (Druha Liha) or work as an assistant manager in the Ukrainian First League (Persha Liha).
It comes as good news for the Ukrainian who missed a large chunk of his club’s title charge thanks to juggling injury problems with his calf and knee. He also missed most of Arsenal’s mid-season tour with fitness issues but is currently on track to recover on time for the resumption of the season on December 26.
THE LATEST: MORE BRILLIANCE
As per Ukrainian news outlet Sports Arena, The training, which was done in four days, focused on the coaching and management of under-17 players. This provides Arsenal with another mentor for their youth teams and Zinchenko, who has settled well in North London, will be looking forward to helping his new club.
It comes as good news for the Ukrainian who missed a large chunk of his club’s title charge thanks to juggling problems with his calf and knee. He also missed most of Arsenal’s mid-season tour with fitness issues but is currently on track to recover on time for the resumption of the season on December 26.
THE VERDICT: THE RIGHT STEP
It is always much welcome to see players take their coaching badges and prepare for life after the beautiful game. Zinchenko has taken the first step towards that and is in line to become a ‘Mikel Arteta’ in the future.
Meanwhile, reports state that Arsenal may go back in for Dušan Vlahovic in January.
The Gunners lost out to Juventus in January of this year in the bid to sign the Serbian striker. Reports suggest they are still keeping tabs on him and hoping they could sign him as he is not performing up to expectations at the Serie A giants.