Though it fueled the Gunners’ title challenge, Man City was right to trade Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus to Arsenal
The former City pair were essential to Mikel Arteta’s table-toppers, but it does not imply that the decision to release them in 2022 was the right one.
This season, Manchester City’s choice to send Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus to Arsenal appeared to be a deadly error of judgment at various moments. No one at the club could have predicted that Mikel Arteta’s team would be title challengers the following season when City chose to transfer both players on in the summer and the Gunners stepped in with tempting offers.
Pep Guardiola and the City board had no idea that they were giving their biggest competitors in the Premier League title race a boost.
The left back and striker have been among Arsenal’s two key players in their unexpected title run, and both will start in the title matchup on Wednesday at the Etihad Stadium.
City will certainly come under fire for giving the Gunners two of their most important players if they can lead Arsenal to victory and put them eight points clear at the top of the standings.
However, City were correct to let the players leave, regardless of what happens on Wednesday and at the end of the campaign.
logical Jesus and powerful Zinchenko
It is undeniable that Jesus and Zinchenko have transformed Arsenal from a good team into a fantastic one, a “unstoppable” team as Guardiola described them prior to Wednesday’s game.
Sell to a Premier League team or don’t sell at all.
Given the expanding financial might of the English top-flight in comparison to other leagues in Europe, which are still feeling the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, City was also forced to sell Zinchenko and Jesus to a major Premier League side.
Barcelona had to use a number of financial maneuvers to finance their extravagant spending in 2022 after purchasing Ferran Torres from City for £46 million in January 2022.
Aurelien Tchouameni cost Real Madrid a total of £70 million last summer, but their only other significant acquisition, Antonio Rudiger, came for free.
The third-place team in Spain, Atletico Madrid, spent less than £25 million last summer.
But Arsenal was able to make offers of £50 million for Jesus and £30 million for Zinchenko. That is significantly more than what AC Milan, Inter, and Napoli each spent last summer and equal to Juventus’ whole transfer budget.
City had to sell Zinchenko, Jesus, and Sterling to a rival in order to profit from them.
In spite of signing, profitable Haaland
Despite making some eye-catching purchases of their own, City managed to end the summer in the black despite taking the risk of bolstering Chelsea and Arsenal.
Through the sales of Pedro Porro, Zinchenko, and Jesus in addition to Sterling, they made £143 million.
With the additional £51 million they were able to spend on Erling Haaland and his rumored £865,000 monthly wage.
They added Manuel Akanji and Sergio Gomez to their roster for a combined £26 million, spent a further £42 million on Kalvin Phillips, and did all of this without having to worry about breaking UEFA’s financial fair play rules in the future.
City managed to balance the budget while bolstering their team, which is impressive for a team with one of the wealthiest owners in football.
It was a tiny price to pay for an exceptional business summer to strengthen Arsenal.
A want to be more than just team members
But City didn’t just sell Zinchenko and Jesus for money. In order to get more playing time, both players had asked to quit the team.
Jesus never started more than 21 Premier League games throughout his five seasons at City. That was not nearly enough for a player who had just turned 25 and hoped to start for Brazil at the 2022 World Cup.
And the arrival of Haaland and Julian Alvarez had merely further diminished his prospects of starting games.
Even more so, Zinchenko felt unimportant. Less than half of City’s league games were started by the Ukrainian throughout his five seasons at the Etihad Stadium, and in his most recent season, he only made 10 starts.
Both players aspired to be more than squad players, and at Arsenal, that is exactly what they have turned out to be.
Despite minor injury issues and the fact that there is still one month left in the season, Zinchenko, for instance, has started more than twice as many games in his first season at Arsenal as he did in his last at City.
“They cannot stay when they want to leave.”
Having players present who don’t want to be there is of little help. The players themselves may lose motivation, and there is a chance that the rest of the team may be negatively impacted.
When Jesus, Zinchenko, and Sterling left last year, Guardiola declared, “When they want to leave, they cannot stay.”
“Gabriel and Oleks deserve nothing but the best. They are wonderful guys who gave us a lot of assistance. I never predict a player’s departure; the team makes that call.
“Erling and Julian arrived, and Gabriel finds it challenging. Gabriel’s experience is typical. It was a great offer.
The errors of Tottenham and Man United
The way City handled both players showed how the team is always planning two steps ahead.
By hiring Haaland and Alvarez to take the place of Jesus and Sterling, they had already made preparations for the future. In addition, they purchased two competent replacements in Akanji and Gomez for the money they received in exchange for Zinchenko, and Nathan Ake has also developed his own style of play to play left back.
Compare the way the matter was handled by Guardiola and City to the way Manchester United prevented Jesse Lingard from moving to West Ham in 2021, costing him a vital year in his career.
And have a look at how they fought tooth and nail to keep Cristiano Ronaldo last summer despite his fervent desire to go. He finally got his wish in November when they mutually decided to void his contract following the club’s humiliation by his infamous conversation with Piers Morgan.
Or consider how Tottenham paid the price later on when they needed to replace an aging, deteriorating roster with little money because they had refused to sell key players by holding onto players like Danny Rose, Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, and Christian Eriksen for too long.
No regrets as City strives for the triple.
While all is going on, City has a team that is very motivated to win the Premier League, the Champions League, and the FA Cup.
Zinchenko and Jesus have helped Arsenal drive them all the way in the league, but City have clearly improved as a result of the title chase keeping them on their toes.
Would that have been the case if they had forbidden the departure of their two players out of concern about bolstering an adversary?
Without a doubt, Guardiola is not sorry about what transpired in 2017. He stated on Tuesday that “the club made the decision.” The players agreed, the club wanted to sell, and the club [Arsenal] wanted to buy, so it wasn’t just about one component. The club made a choice, and that decision carries a risk. They are content.
“We are confident in Gabriel and Oleks and the work they have done.”
Jesus, who had trouble breaking into the City squad even before Erling Haaland arrived, has emerged as Arteta’s ideal striker. When he was on the field, he was largely effective, recording nine goals and five assists in just 18 league starts.
However, he has also been able to brilliantly link Arsenal’s attack, bringing out the best in team leaders and fellow attackers Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka.
Even though Zinchenko has only started 23 games due to injury, he has had a significant impact on the club both on and off the field.
At the beginning of the season, the Ukrainian thought Arsenal could challenge for the title. His teammates laughed at the idea, but after a scorching first half of the season in which they collected 50 points from their first 19 games, he was proven correct.
At City, where he won four Premier League championships, four League Cups, one FA Cup, and advanced to the Champions League final, it is tempting to draw the conclusion that he formed his winning mindset.
Selling Sterling entailed danger as well.
In retrospect, it could seem stupid to hand over two good players with championship experience to a direct opponent like Arsenal.
However, this is not the only instance in which they have sold a key player to a rival. Raheem Sterling was also sold to Chelsea over the summer.
At the time, Chelsea seemed like a greater threat than Arsenal, and Sterling had just helped City finish the season with 13 goals. This was before Todd Boehly began firing managers for pleasure and spending money on any player he could find.
When City loaned Joao Cancelo to Bayern Munich in January, they took a chance that they would come to regret when they were drawn with the Bundesliga team in the Champions League quarterfinals.
Cancelo sat out of the opening leg as City easily defeated Bayern 4-1 on the road.
The truth is that everytime you trade a player, you run the danger of regretting it later if they end up flourishing with their new team.
