BRAVE, honest, and a true spokesperson for his country – Oleksandr Zinchenko has come a long way in his football career.
The Ukraine star, 25, has joined Arsenal in a £30million deal – after six years of winning admirers at Manchester City.
But it wasn't just his football that did his talking – more his support for a homeland ravaged by a Russian invasion.
Shortly after Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to march towards Kyiv, Zinchenko offered his support and had to be talked out of fighting for his country by friends, family and his club.
"I'll be honest, if not for my daughter, my family, I would be there," he told the BBC.
"I'm just born like that. I know the people from my country, the mentality of them, and all of them, they think exactly the same."
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Tears followed when he broke down during a press conference ahead of Ukraine's crucial World Cup qualifier against Scotland – pleading for the war to stop.
Conflict has always followed Zinchenko's career around.
When he was just 17, he fled Donbas with his family and headed to Russia, where his mum believed they would be safer.
But that propelled the ambitious teenager and fuelled his football dream.
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Leaving Ukraine
Zinchenko captained Shakhtar Donetsk at youth level.
Ironically, he came up against an Arsenal team in the UEFA Youth League that featured his new team mates Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Hector Bellerin in 2014.
But just two months later, he left Ukraine and put his promising talent on hold as war broke out in Donbas.
The Zinchenko family headed to Russia, where they momentarily settled.
Young Oleksandr, though, was without a club and was forced to keep fit by playing street football.
He trained for free with Rubin Kazan, who couldn't sign him permanently because he was still under contract with Shakhtar and would risk a transfer ban if they did.
"He had no salary and thus players just collected money so that he would be able to buy himself something in the city," ex-Rubin coach Rinat Bilyaletdinov revealed to the BBC.
"Eventually we were informed that signing him was impossible, and he left."
Zinchenko played in the amateur leagues in Russia for six months before he was allowed to sign for FC Ufa, where he would meet an Arsenal cult icon.
The Frimpong effect
Before signing for Arsenal, Zinchenko has seemingly always had an affinity with the Gunners.
Doing the rounds on Twitter at the moment is an image of the midfielder wearing the famous red and white shirt.
While at FC Ufa, he made pals with ex-star Emmanuel Frimpong – who came through the Hale End Academy.
Amusingly, it was Frimpong who would help Zinchenko learn English ahead of his £1.7million move to Manchester City in 2016.
“He never paid me for my work,” Frimpong would later joke with the Sport24 website.
"Write that Zinchenko owes me.
"We agreed with him that he would pay me when he left. I usually charge $2,000 an hour but he is my friend, so there is only $1000 for him. I spent so much time on him! Tell him it's very important."
City slicker
City beat Borussia Dortmund to Zinchenko's signature – and immediately loaned him out to PSV.
But it was needs must a season later when he was drafted into manager Pep Guardiola's side at left-back to replace the injured Benjamin Mendy.
He featured eight times in the league – helping the club win the league title in 2018, playing all those matches in an unfamiliar position.
His time at City would be laden with trophies – three more Premier Leagues, an FA Cup and four League Cups.
Internationally he was already established as the Ukraine's protagonist in midfield – having broken the record for the country's youngest ever scorer two years prior to his City break through.
Guardiola would admit back in April that Zinchenko's best position was in midfield.
"That's his position, definitely," he told reporters.
"When we brought Oleks for £2million from Ukraine, he was a No.10 – a Phil Foden position, a creative player – but the needs we had… We didn’t have a left-back for many years.
"Fabian Delph adapted incredibly well in that position and Oleks as well. That’s happened because he is well-educated, he knows exactly what it means.
"He adapted and said: ‘Okay, what does the team need? I’m going to do it.’"
Tears for the Ukraine
It's Zinchenko's self-sacrificing nature that contributed towards his success at City, where he was loved by team mates and fans.
But the wider world took note when an emotionally charged Zinchenko delivered a rousing speech calling for an end to Russia's invasion.
"Every Ukrainian wants one thing – to stop this war," he said ahead of their World Cup qualifier against Scotland back in June.
"I have spoken with people from all around the world, from different countries, and also some Ukrainian kids, who just don’t understand what is happening back in Ukraine.
"They only want the war to stop. They have one dream – to stop the war. When it comes to football, the Ukrainian team have their own dream: we want to go to the World Cup.
"We want to give incredible emotions to the Ukrainian people because Ukrainians deserve it so much at this very moment."
Mrs Zinchenko
Away from football, Oleksandr is married to the stunning football journalist Vlada Sedan.
She gave birth to their daughter in 2021, and they are the glam couple of the Ukraine.
But, Mikel Arteta better be wary of any tactical mishaps moving forward.
Sedan famously bashed Pep Guardiola after City crashed out of the Champions League to Lyon for his team selection.
"You saw what happened," Sedan told Goal.
"I'm not a football player, not a coach, not a critic or an analyst. I understand that my opinion is not authoritative.
“Perhaps I have no right to say this, and perhaps Zinchenko will forbid me, but to put it mildly, in order not to swear, this is completely Guardiola's fault."
Zinchenko would later have to dig his wife out of a hole.
"On the night we lost to Lyon that doesn't mean the manager was wrong to try," he said.
"If you have seen my interviews in the past and the way how I talk about our manager then you can believe me. He is No 1."
Any problems seemed to be ironed out at Pep's 50th birthday party in 2021, which Sedan and Zinchenko attended.
She dished about a conversation the player and his former boss had at the celebrations.
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Sedan revealed: "Zina told him, 'Already 50, old age'. Kidding in his own style.
"Pep looked at him and said: 'Alex, the most important thing for me is to be liked by your wife and all will be okay…"
Arteta, you have been warned.
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