Oleksandr Zinchenko names Liverpool star as toughest opponent ever
- Zinchenko has picked out Mohamed Salah as his toughest opponent
- The former Man City defender recalled his battle with Salah during the 2019 Community Shield
- Zinchenko also paid respect to Riyad Mahrez
By Tom Gott
Arsenal full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko has named Mohamed Salah of Liverpool as the toughest opponent he has ever faced.
Zinchenko has faced Liverpool four times during his career, with three of those outings coming during his time at Manchester City and the fourth in last season's 2-2 draw between Arsenal and Liverpool.
Speaking to FIVE, Zinchenko recalled his battle with Salah during the 2019 Community Shield. Then on the books at City, the Ukraine international found himself begging for help from then-assistant Mikel Arteta, his current boss at Arsenal.
"I think it’s Salah, I think it’s Salah," the 26-year-old said when asked for his toughest opponent. "With all my respect to the rest, to Riyad [Mahrez] as well because I played against when he was at Leicester [City]. He’s [Salah] an absolutely explosive and unstoppable winger.
"What Liverpool did so well, especially when [Georginio] Wijnaldum was there, because Wijnaldum is more like box-to-box... Community Shield game against Liverpool, penalties, we won that game. Mikel was still there and I went to the dressing room at half-time and said, 'Mikel, what do I need to do with this?'
"[Virgil] Van Dijk on the ball, he’s playing on the left side on the right foot, without pressure, he does first touch, Wijnaldum runs behind between me and [Nicolas] Otamendi, I need to protect inside, Salah drops wide, the ball to feet and the distance between me and Salah, was like 50 meters. Imagine his pace against me, I’m finished. What do I need to do at half-time? There was like five balls like this in a row.
"He said, 'the only one way is to ask Raz [Sterling] who was playing on the left, to come to drop a bit lower to leave Trent [Alexander-Arnold]'. If you stay with Salah then it’s a big gap for Wijnaldum. And when Mohamed is receiving the ball at his feet and he gets the pace, it’s impossible, impossible."
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Zinchenko also revealed a brilliant interaction with Trent Alexander-Arnold last season after the 2-2 draw, in which the Liverpool right-back put the ball through Zinchenko's leg to set up his side's second goal.
"Trent last season, about the megs, I spoke with him after the game in the tunnel, he said, 'Alex, I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t expect that I megs you. In the end I just put my head down and saw the ball is still with me and then after I realised that I megs you'.
"I knew he was going to meg me! I knew! If you see the pictures, my knees were touching each other, I knew that’s the only way he could go through me."
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