Arsenal star shows class with full-time gesture as Shakhtar boss hails 'great guy'

Arsenal star Oleksandr Zinchenko showed his class with a heartfelt post-match gesture following the victory over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.

Arsenal secured another valuable three points after an own goal by Dmytro Riznyk propelled them to fourth place, with seven points from three games. The match itself may not exactly have been a headline-grabber, marred slightly by the injury of Riccardo Calafiori ahead of the clash with title rivals Liverpool on Sunday.

After his injury, Arteta gave young star Myles Lewis-Skelly the nod over Zinchenko. However, the Ukrainian, a product of the Shakhtar academy, showed his true character at the final whistle.

Zinchenko didn’t miss the chance to acknowledge where he came from, heading over to the travelling fans and gifting his shirt to a supporter. He then later joined the visitors in their changing room.

The gesture did not escape the attention of Shakhtar manager Marino Pusic, who told Amazon Prime Video: “Oleksandr [Zinchenko], fantastic. He was in our dressing room [at full-time], he was listening to my speech to the players. He was our guest. A great guy and an amazing player, of course.”

The 27-year-old has been on the periphery of the Arsenal first-team this season, having only made two appearances in the Premier League. Zinchenko was in the starting line-up for the opening match against Wolves but has only played nine minutes since due to a calf injury.

Calafiori’s injury could pave the way for the left-back to enjoy more minutes as Arsenal look to balance a hectic schedule.

The Gunners face a challenging encounter when they resume Premier League action this weekend with Liverpool visiting the Emirates, followed by a swift turnaround for a midweek Carabao Cup match against Preston North End in seven days.