Oleksandr Zinchenko has warned his new Arsenal team-mates not to get carried away after they thrashed Premier League rivals Chelsea 4-0 in a pre-season friendly.
Mikel Arteta’s side rounded off their US tour in style at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium as goals from Gabriel Jesus, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Albert Sambi Lokonga sealed an emphatic win.
Zinchenko played 45 minutes against the Blues, having completed a £32m move from Manchester City at the end of last week.
The Ukraine international, who won four Premier League titles at the Etihad, has been impressed by the quality in Arsenal’s squad but insists more improvements are needed ahead of the new season.
‘It’s a massive pleasure to be here and I’m so happy with the result,’ Zinchenko said. ‘In terms of the game, of course, we did well, but there is still a couple of things we can improve.
‘4-0 is a great result, but this is a friendly and in the Premier League it will be different. I hope the result will be the same, but we need to work hard.’
Despite only joining up with Mikel Arteta’s squad last week, Zinchenko feels he is already settling in to his new surroundings, largely thanks to his relationship with former Man City assistant manager Arteta.
‘I need to adapt as soon as possible and I am already starting to feel my team-mates really well and I am enjoying it here and really excited to be here and wrking with my former boss,’ the 25-year-old said.
‘I want to say thanks a lot to the lads, all the coaching staff and to the medical staff for the warm welcome and i cannot forget the fans. That helped me a lot.
‘The quality here is unbelievable. There’s a lot of very good players and I realise how high the level is.
‘One of the main reasons I came [to Arsenal] was our manager, Mikel Arteta. I know him very well from my time at City and don’t forget that my boyhood team was always Arsenal, so the dream has come true.’
Arsenal finished fifth in the Premier League last season, narrowly missing out on a top-four spot to north London rivals Tottenham.
Arteta was impressed by his side’s performance against Chelsea in Florida but echoed Zinchenko’s sentiment that the match must be taken in a pre-season context.
‘There were a lot of positives in the way we played but it was a friendly match,’ the Gunners boss said. ‘There are still a lot of things we have to do better, so don’t get carried away.
‘But I think it’s good to get some momentum, finish the tour in the right way, give some enjoyment to our fans and everybody that’s been contributing to make this tour happen.
‘Now it’s time to go back to London, to focus and keep making improvements and steps forwards and win trophies we would not only want to be fighting for only fourth position.’
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