OLEKSANDR ZINCHENKO has completed a deadline day move to Nottingham Forest.
The Ukraine international has fallen down the pecking order at the Emirates following the arrival of Jurrien Timber and the emergence of Myles Lewis-Skelly.
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His future with the North Londoners was thrown into further doubt when it emerged the Gunners had signed Piero Hincapie.
And Forest have given the former Manchester City defender an escape from his Emirates hell.
The Midlands club struck a loan deal with the Gunners for the 28-year-old late on Monday night
Forest have swooped for Zinchenko after their move for Atletico Madrid’s Javi Galan collapsed.
The Tricky Trees uploaded a clip of their new man speaking about his move to their X account.
He said: “Hi guys I am so happy to join Nottingham Forest, so excited for the season ahead.
“I can’t wait to meet you all there. Come on Forest!”
Zinchenko, who SunSport understands was briefly being eyed by Fulham, recently spoke about his struggles with being dropped from the starting XI.
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He made only 15 Prem appearances last season, with just FIVE of those appearances being starting berths.
During a game at the Emirates last term, his wife Vlada took his two young daughters to a match, and Zinchenko explained: “Eva, the older one at three-and-a-half, says to Leia, ‘Look, there’s Daddy’.
“Leia looks all over the pitch but can’t find me. And then Eva points and says, ‘No, he’s not playing. He’s on the bench.’
“Hearing that pained me a lot. It made me feel ashamed.
“I’m quite grateful that the girls are not yet at an age where they’re exposed to social media and don’t have to read nasty stuff about their dad who can’t get into the Arsenal team anymore.
“I was basically out of the starting XI altogether, bar a few isolated matches.
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“In pure personal terms, it was easily the worst season I ever experienced as a professional.
“A player who doesn’t play is nothing. It’s one thing when your body lets you down. That can happen.
“But going from one of the established players of the side to an unused sub is much harder to deal with.
“The sense of rejection you feel if your manager no longer believes in you can take the stuffing out of you, even if you’re the most resilient guy on the planet.
“Sitting on the bench in the Premier League for a very generous wage packet is obviously still a privilege, the kind of problem that billions of people on this planet would swap their much tougher lives for in a heartbeat.
“The sense of rejection you feel if your manager no longer believes in you can take the stuffing out of you.”
Oleksandr Zinchenko on being dropped
“Trust me, as a Ukrainian, I’m aware of that. Every single minute.
“But every footballer started playing because they love to play the game. A big part of your life is missing without it.
“Imagine this little boy who’s dedicated his entire existence to becoming good at one particular thing and then finds at 28 that he’s essentially no longer needed, that there are others who can do the job for him. It’s not a nice feeling.
“[Vlada] doesn’t want to show that she’s affected, for fear of upsetting me even more. But every once in a while, the mask slips.”
He added: “I can only blame myself. If I don’t play, it means that I didn’t work hard enough, didn’t do enough, didn’t play well enough.
“Let’s see what time will bring.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
“Because I still want to play football. I want to enjoy the game and come back with a smile on my face in the evening.”
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